


Child of Crete

by sparklight



Series: Courting Ganymede [4]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Anal Sex, Background Hera/Zeus, First Time, M/M, Oral Sex, Power Dynamics, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Romance, Sexual Confusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:40:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23721754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklight/pseuds/sparklight
Summary: Zeus goes to Crete every year for Velchania to celebrate what's technically his birthday. Zeus goes to Velchania alone and quite enjoys it either way, for Hera has never found the particulars of how the three-day celebration affects her husband particularly enchanting.Zeus always goes alone... except this year, there's Ganymede. And Ganymede will get quite a surprise as tohowZeus celebrates Velchania.
Relationships: Ganymede/Zeus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Series: Courting Ganymede [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672690
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40





	1. Birth

The morning was surprisingly late, with the scent of spring flowers filling the air, softening the warm, subtle sweetness of ambrosia, and Zeus woke up feeling light. Light, and... He gave in to the urge to blow a noise into the crook of Hera's neck, and she grumbled, shoving him off. He let her go; she had little patience for such play, as rarely as the urge took him, but today, it was undeniable and he would only annoy her more the longer he stayed.

"Come back when you can master yourself again," Hera muttered, her tone somewhere between waspish and warmly exasperated, but she caught him by the arm before he could get off the bed, leaning up to kiss him. It was slow and warm and still carried the tingling depths that Gamelion always left, having further been allowed to linger for longer this year. Of course, as it was, as _he_ currently was, would be, Zeus could not let it stay like that and ended the kiss by nibbling Hera's bottom lip, catching it between his teeth and tugging lightly before letting go. Hera huffed and shoved him away, flopping back onto the bed while he got off it, and her annoyance, compared to what it might have been, was soft. This was, after all, the smallest of the annoyances he visited on her - or, rather, _wouldn't_ visit on her, because she would be remaining on Olympos.

"Always." 

And wasn't that how it was? Hera was constant, as aggravating as she could be, and he would not have her any other way. Despite what he visited on her, her feelings about it was the same. She sighed into her pillows and very pointedly didn't watch him dress in a loincloth that had fallen out of favour some time ago, loose around one side of his thighs and tight around the other, layered in short, decorative flounces and the belt broad and cinched tight. He ignored sandals and other boots or shoes all, left the chamber with his hair falling free. He didn't run, though there was an urge bubbling like a melt-rich spring stream in his limbs, all the way down into his essence to do so. It wasn't to be indulged yet. Not while still in the winding halls of the palace, Olympos' marble walls and spring-clad grounds spreading out around him.

Soon.

But not here.

The straining sway of an aulos echoing through the air as he came to the entrance tugged on the urge to run, made it sore hard to suppress it more than it usually was at this point, and Zeus was, almost, of a mind to reprimand whoever it was that was playing. He didn't need to visit the indignity of running like a calf that’d newly discovered the freedom of its legs on himself yet. Stepping out into the mid-morning sunlight evaporated the desire to lash out, however.

A faint, sweet breeze, just warm enough to caress instead of cool, played with teasing lightness in dark, hyacinthine curls, so similar to the hair he'd had his face buried in just earlier aside from the colour that the King of the Gods might be embarrassed if that was an emotion he was much at all laid towards. As he wasn't, he paid no heed to the hypothetical seed of it. What Zeus _did_ pay attention to was the way the gentle breeze seemed to be touching nothing else in the nearby surroundings, and his eyes narrowed.

"Stop that," he muttered sharply under his breath, quiet enough the musician, sunlight gilding his limbs, didn't hear. The breeze didn't so much still and disappear as it spread out, away from the young man seated on the stairs. Now it also ruffled Zeus’ hair, the young leaves on the nearby oaks, the grass surrounding the courtyard in addition to the folds of the kilt and the silky dark locks.

Better.

That was one less thing to concern himself with, and Zeus would have walked past the stairs with as brief a goodbye to the boy as he had to his wife earlier, for today he had other thoughts on his mind rather than the sweet, distracting confusion Ganymede often wrought. Except. He was still standing still, looking down at the top of Ganymede's head, the curls spilling down towards his shoulders in gentle majesty. The idea of leaving the young man behind sat ill. Ganymede, in comparison to Hera, might actually enjoy himself.

... What did that matter, though? 

This was for him, not anyone else, though he'd tried to share with Hera once. Sharing this with Ganymede didn't seem quite right, considering the intention and meaning of the whole celebration, and at least some of the contents of it. But now that the thought had cropped up, that _Ganymede might enjoy himself_ , it refused to go away. And he was very much enamoured of the prince's smile, as vexing as it was that it seemed to have much the same effect on him as one of Hera's rare smiles did, or any fetching young nymph, or, sometimes, lately, mortal women. Almost a year since he brought the youth to Olympos, and he indulged in causing Ganymede to smile more often than he would admit to, so why _add to it_?

... Why not?

He would just not partake of _all_ he usually would for this, that was all. That decided, Zeus smiled, pleased, and stepped up alongside his cupbearer.

"Ganymede."

###### 

Looking up as he lowered the aulos from his mouth, Ganymede shifted around to face Zeus and stared, the sight presented quite unexpected. Not that Zeus didn't nearly always take his breath away, but he was, usually, dressed in a tunic, the style of it current among the men who worshipped the Olympian gods. This morning, for whatever reason, he was... Ganymede frowned, confused, as he looked the god over. Barefoot was strange enough, but was that... old Cretan fashion? How strange.

"My lord?"

Zeus frowned, his gaze narrow and somehow distracted before it focused on him again, and Ganymede's breath caught, just a little. He could feel the suggestion of crackling power, just beyond actual manifestation. Even when Zeus wasn't right up next to him, it was always a thrill - and a bit of a worry, as he wasn't yet used to the security of knowing he _wouldn't_ be reduced to ashes if he was faced with Zeus' full majesty.

"I'm leaving Olympos for a couple days," Zeus said slowly, and if Ganymede didn't know better, he would say he was hesitating, but that seemed quite ridiculous. Though he had experienced that hesitation a couple times, hadn't he? No matter how out of character it seemed every time it happened, enough so that he plain forgot it ever _had_. "Would you accompany me?"

Not an order.

That was enough to really drive home the strangeness of the situation, besides the odd choice in fashion. Zeus didn't _ask_. He took, he ordered, he demanded - if nearly always with a gentle touch to the small of Ganymede’s back, shoulder, cheek, sometimes so light he barely noticed before it was over. Asking, though? Not really. If nothing else, pure intrigue as to what might have Zeus _asking him_ , and curious for what that meant, had Ganymede hopping to his feet.

"Of course, my lord. Let me just---"

"Leave it."

Ah, there they were. Ganymede surrendered the aulos with a suppressed smile, for he wasn't quite so daring, no matter how indulgent the king of the gods clearly was with him, to laugh at him for something he couldn't precisely explain why it was amusing. Zeus put the aulos on the railing to the stairs, then turned to regard him, thoughtful now. Then he reached out, wrapping his hands around Ganymede's waist. His hands were large, and while they didn't really reach the whole way around to touch fingertips to fingertips, it still rather felt like it, the way Zeus' thumbs teased the skin on either side of his navel. What the point of this was, Ganymede didn't quite understand - at least not until Zeus started to pull his hands down, and at first it might just have seemed a way to grope him, the way Zeus' hands slowly slid down his hips, squeezing gently as they dragged down the fabric of his kilt, catching on his buttocks and thighs, and Ganymede was blushing even before Zeus had actually reached that far down. Right out here?

The tightening pinch around his waist, despite that Zeus' hands had left that spot already, alerted him to the fact that groping him wasn't actually what Zeus was doing. Or maybe not _only_ , anyway, for when he glanced over to look at him, his gray eyes were sparkling and there was the edge of a heated grin in the corner of his lips. Looking down, though, revealed what the real reason was, bonuses aside; he was no longer wearing a kilt in the style he would have at home, but rather, as he watched, the fringed bottom shifted, _changed_ , wrapped itself differently around his thighs and soon Ganymede was wearing something very similar to what Zeus was, the belt wide and tight around his waist.

"I... assume there's a reason for this, my lord?" he asked, clearing his throat and trying to pretend like he didn't notice the way Zeus squeezed his thighs once more before he let go, the change of his clothing complete. His sandals had been left as they were, though.

"You will fit in better." Zeus chuckled and waved them down the stairs. "Come. I think we can use this as a test of your abilities to drive the chariot, as well."

"I should think I've managed to learn _something_ in almost a year, or thereabouts," Ganymede said, perking up at the thought, certain while also as excited as he was nervous. Zeus had allowed him the reins before, of course, but never from start to finish. He'd had hold of them while they coursed the grounds, had them while they were already in the air, had them while trying to coax the horses up into the air, but this promised to be for the whole trip. He'd felt quite foolish, the first time he'd been put in the chariot after Zeus brought the idea up, for he'd thought he already knew how to control horses and a chariot! And, well, to be sure, he _did_ , but it was still quite different when it came to the flying horses and chariots of the Deathless Ones.

It was harder than he thought, to coax them into the air, and it'd frankly been rather terrifying to start with, to try and control them and the chariot both, while they were in the air. They'd taken their time though, and Ganymede was grateful for that, as little as he'd liked to have admitted it, particularly at the start. He had his pride after all, and having to relearn something he was good at had smarted a little. It had helped that teaching him that seemed more an indulgence from Zeus, a perk of spending time with him while teaching Ganymede a skill that would be useful even if driving his chariot wasn't to be Ganymede's actual task. That, after all, belonged more to either Iris or Nike, each of them much closer to being Zeus' actual charioteers when he didn't drive his chariot himself.

After the horses had been yoked, Ganymede took the reins, but then he paused, swallowing. What if he couldn't do it? Despite that he'd been fine the last couple times he'd brought the horses to air; they answered quickly now. But after---

"Mind what you've learned, Ganymede," Zeus murmured, but even as a bare whisper it was like rolling thunder in his ear, all-encompassing, his breath stirring Ganymede's curls and both it and his hair tickling his ear. The hand at the small of his back was warm, fingertips pressing just enough to spark a creeping charge of sensation. Distracting, for several reasons. Shifting on his feet, Ganymede nodded.

"Yes, my lord."

And really, it wasn't hard.

The horses knew him by now, and he them; they answered swiftly and they were in the air after a bare few galloping leaps. The chariot dipped slightly to start with as the horses wavered under the slack of the reins, but Ganymede tightened his grip up quickly and set them straight again, firmly towards the gates. Not hard at all, by now, and Zeus' pleased chuckle in his ear before he straightened up was more than reward enough. That he left his hand at the small of his back was even better. Few things would match it... Well. A kiss would definitely have been even better, for those Zeus were both quite generous with and breathtakingly good at. Unfortunately Ganymede was doubtfully capable of controlling the chariot while being kissed! So that would have to remain in his imagination for now, though, maybe after they'd landed instead... It was a pleasant idea to entertain him while they passed the gates as they opened for them, incomprehensibly huge even with familiarity, and dove into the clouds around Olympos.

They came out over the shining sparkle of sun on water, the coastline behind them, and with a brief wave of Zeus' hand, Ganymede aimed them south. He quickly relaxed into his task, confidence growing into pure pleasure of the wind tugging at his hair, the view spreading out below them. It wasn't quite flying as the gods could do, with or without wings, and it wasn't flying as Zeus had done when he'd brought him to Olympos, but it was flying nonetheless, and Ganymede loved any version of it as well as every second of it, as soon as he got past the initial fearful thrill of the vast distance to the ground.

Even with such a view before and below him, Ganymede was helplessly aware of the god at his side, the subtle pressure of his power. It was hard not to look at him when he was so close (when he was within line of sight at all). The first glance aside was thoughtless, Ganymede daring a quick look away from the reins, the horses' slight rocking as they ran through the air, to look up at Zeus. It was a bright, nearly cloudless day, so he was nearly blinded looking in that direction, and he was forced to turn his head back forward, blinking bright spots out of his vision. If Zeus had seemed perhaps a little slighter, the sunlight was probably more to blame than anything else. Ganymede didn't think much about it, focusing instead on his task.

Not much later Zeus flung a hand out, pointing slightly south-west of the direction they were flying in. "That way. We're going to Crete."

Ganymede shrugged and adjusted, had to readjust a little more because he was staring at Zeus' arm and earning himself a chuckle - which, it was a very nice arm. He'd stared at either of Zeus' arms quite a lot since coming to Olympos, surreptitiously or not. This time, though... frowning, Ganymede looked over as soon as he had the horses at their proper course, and blinked, eyes widening.

No question about it, Zeus _was shorter_. Not by a lot, but Ganymede was by now very used to how far he had to look up to meet Zeus' gaze and he was not looking that high up, right then.

"Zeus---"

A finger pressed to his lip and Zeus winked at him, taking his hand away to hold a single finger up to his own lips, smirking. The gesture only emphasized the fact that his beard was definitely shorter than it had been this morning, more of a heavy scruff than the thick half-curls it usually was. Buzzing with confusion, Ganymede still rolled his eyes and settled. Okay, he could wait. He assumed there'd be some sort of answer when they came to Crete, which wasn't that long by now, he was pretty sure. It was still dizzyingly strange how little time it took to go anywhere with the chariot and horses like this.

As if to prove him right, it took barely another couple minutes before they were going down in slow, lazy spirals, the shape of Crete growing larger and larger underneath them. Crete. Wait. Flushing, Ganymede shifted on his feet, his hands tightening on the reins until he was reminded to ease up by the horses' flight growing uneven from the tension.

"Ah--- My lord? Are we... going to Knossos?"

"That is where I usually spend Velchania, yes," Zeus said, and since there was nothing forbidding in his tone, Ganymede dared to clear his throat and continue.

"Could we, maybe, go somewhere else? Surely the Velchania isn't celebrated just in Knossos?" Please let them go somewhere else... Ganymede almost jumped from the hand falling onto his shoulder, squeezing until he glanced up, sideways. Caught Zeus' arched eyebrow, silently questioning him. Or demanding his answer more like.

"... It would just be somewhat awkward, if, on the rare chance King Minos saw me. He tried to kidnap me a couple years ago."

The hand on his shoulder tightened into gentle restraint, and the air thickened with charge until Ganymede could feel the fine hairs on the back of his neck and arms rising up.

"He won't attempt to do so again." The rumbling growl of Zeus' voice was... embarrassingly sexy, honestly, echoed faintly across the sky as if to call actual thunder, but the reassurance of safety hadn't been Ganymede's concern. Who would even try to kidnap what the King of the Gods had already (kidnapped) claimed for himself, anyway? Though admittedly Zeus would presumably hide his divinity enough to pass for mortal, so if Minos did see them and he did decide that he regretted letting Ganymede go, then it _could_ end up terribly. Better avoid such possibilities by the most expedient means.

"Piḫaššaššiš..." Sighing, Ganymede tipped his head further and shot a brief, shy smile up at Zeus. "That wasn't what I was worried about. It'd just be awkward, in the case he saw me at all, which would probably not happen anyway. I would just prefer to not ruin your festival."

Gray eyes stared down at him, Zeus' mouth a flat line, before he sighed, reaching up to lightly run the back of a few fingers down Ganymede's cheek. "I take the point, but you wouldn't be ruining anything. No, we don't need to go to Knossos. I'll direct you to another location that will serve us just as well."

Relaxing, Ganymede nodded and focused back on driving the chariot. Since they were now close enough to the surface of Crete he could see the collections of little buildings of villages and then, Knossos itself, Ganymede could admit to being distracted again, but not so much he didn't keep a steady hold on the horses. They took half a turn over Knossos, and with more of a chance to observe and less reason to be distracted, Ganymede was quite charmed by the pattern the winding streets made from up above, with the palace at the topmost height like a colourful jewel.

They veered away soon enough, cutting in over the mainland of Crete towards the south-western half of the island, skirting the foothills of a mountain. Zeus leaned down, both hands now on Ganymede's shoulders, though he was looking towards the mountain, not at Ganymede or in the direction they were flying.

"That's where I was born," he murmured into Ganymede's ear, and if it wasn't impossible, Ganymede could swear his heart stopped for a moment. It was such a monumental idea, not just that Zeus would have been born, somewhere in the past (because of course he had), but rather that it had been a physical location, and more, that it was _here_. Sure, he knew the stories, and they did say it'd been on Crete, but after his "history lesson" about the gods' war with the titans, he understood well enough that just because any given story probably was true enough in the broad strokes didn't mean it was true in the details. Something like this, if anything, he would have believed that to apply to more than anything else.

"Really?" He didn't mean to question, it was just... Zeus laughed, squeezed his shoulders, and tipped his head towards the mountain, standing so close his short beard caught in the curls near Ganymede's ear and nearly scraped against his temple.

"Fly a little closer, I'll show you the cave."

"Is--- is that allowed?" It couldn't be, could it? Ganymede glanced up - wondered again at how much closer Zeus seemed, as if he was occupying less space than he usually did, but it was a brief thought in the face of the burning silver of Zeus' eyes, warm but exasperated.

"You won't be entering it. And even so, if I want to show you where I was born, I will." He waved it off with dismissive weight, his hand maybe a little more graceful than, again, it really should be. Ganymede didn't get a chance to really look as Zeus stretched his arm out, directing him and having him fly lower and lower until they were bare meters above the rocky mountainside, going no faster than a lazy trot. 

Then, the mountain opened up to a flat spot, wedge-shaped towards the wide, low mouth of a cave. It looked like nothing but a perfectly normal mouth of a cave, but Ganymede could feel a pressure in the air, humming like a whole hive of bees against his ears, and shivered. The birth of a deity, no matter the location, left a mark at the location, one which lingered; surely even more so for the god who'd become the ruler of all, one who was able to wield such a weapon as lightning. Out of the corner of his eye, Ganymede thought he caught a faint glow from somewhere within the cave. It was tempting, but he didn't turn to look down into the cave directly.

"I can feel it," he said instead, quietly, shifting a little so he could lean back against Zeus, who slid an arm around his chest and held him closer. The weight of the arm still felt exactly as it should, and Ganymede might think he had been imagining all the little weirdnesses of Zeus' physical body up until now if it weren't for the memory of the teasing gesture to silence Zeus had given him early on in the flight.

"That sensation will grow for these three days, and then fade back. Come."

Obeying the command, Ganymede took them up high again, urging the horses into reluctant gallop through the air, until Zeus pointed down at the knot of buildings coming up in the distance.

"Phaistos. It will serve us well."

Nodding, Ganymede steered the horses down while Zeus finally stepped away from him, and they landed in a protected little glen that would hold the chariot and the horses until they were done here. Hopping off the chariot, hobbles for the horses in one hand, Ganymede turned around and then just... stopped. 

Stared as Zeus stepped off the chariot and watched in stunned surprise. He'd expected a mortal disguise, but this didn’t seem the same as that as Zeus' shoulders slimmed down; he lost... quite a bit of extra height, though he was still at least a head taller than Ganymede as he stood in front of him, about of a height with Hebe, actually. Zeus was grinning wide from a smoothly bare face that wasn't _quite_ as angled as it ought to be, his cheekbones not as prominent and being framed by the rich fall of his hair, still as dark as it always was and with a liquid gleam to it in the light, longer than Ganymede's. It spilled down past Zeus' shoulders and slimmed him further, even if he was still more broad-shouldered than Ganymede was; like this, in fact, Zeus reminded Ganymede of Assaracus when he'd been the age Ganymede was now; a suggestion of what should be. What _would_ be, for this wasn't exactly Zeus in disguise as a mortal youth - this was just Zeus, _young_.

And he was no less impressive than he usually was. Ganymede wet his dry lips, swallowed, and shook his head, slowly, as if poleaxed.

He _felt_ poleaxed.

Not that Zeus was any less handsome than he usually was, for that wasn't it at all. It was just... different. Very, very different, which was emphasized by the grin on Zeus' face, a flash of lopsided brightness, an expression that would normally have been sharper, more calculating, even if the traces of mischief was exactly the same. Just less obvious normally; the lack of years and _apparent_ experience changed his whole outlook, even if Zeus was still... well, Zeus. He seemed to shimmer with bright, wild energy that wasn’t as heavily settled as it usually would be, matching the grin, the slimmer shoulders, the gentler smoothness of his face. It wasn't until that moment that Zeus actually dimmed down to mortal guise, somehow suppressing or putting away the weight and pressure of divine power until he seemed nothing more but a mortal youth, handsome and lithe. Ganymede barely noticed, so busy was he with staring.

"What?"

Zeus knew exactly "what", by the dancing light in his eyes, shameless and bright as it was, so Ganymede didn't even bother to reply. Instead he stepped up in front of the now-young god, hesitating only long enough for Zeus to dip his head in silent permission, the smile still on his face but a little softer, now. 

Permission given, Ganymede reached out. Fingertips skimmed a softened curve of prominent cheekbone, then he slid his whole hand close, cradling Zeus' bare face. That he could actually reach with ease without even getting up on tiptoe was such a strange situation Ganymede found himself smiling, which only widened when Zeus frowned in confusion. Having nothing but smooth, bare skin under his hands while touching Zeus' face, as if it was his own or Apollo's (not that he'd cradle Apollo's face like this so randomly), was fascinating. Also, the lack of a beard revealed Apollo and Zeus did share the shape of their chin, which seemed like a greater revelation than it truly actually was since he had wondered about that before.

"I like it," Ganymede finally said, a laugh in the back of the words, and he didn't imagine the slight shift of tension in Zeus's neck and shoulders, easing up. What, did he somehow think he wouldn't like what he looked like like this? Why wouldn't he? Zeus looked no less striking or attractive just because he suddenly seemed no older than Ganymede or maybe Apollo. In fact...

With the lack of height between them, the smooth face under his hands as well as the easing of tension in Zeus' shoulders he'd caught, Ganymede let that propel him forward, giving in to the urge that’d been building. He would normally not act first, but now it seemed one of the most natural things in the world to kiss Zeus like this without Zeus pulling him close first.

It was odd; it was more like kissing one of his friends, the way there was no beard to catch against his chin and cheek, the way the slightly softer features he cupped in his hands felt. But after a moment of stillness Ganymede found himself practically bent over in half and clutched close, the gentle pressure of their lips against each other turning into familiar all-consuming dizziness, leaving sparks in its passing. Definitely still Zeus.

"A tempting proposition," Zeus said, pulling back but not straightening them up just yet, smiling down at Ganymede while holding him up as effortlessly as he usually would, though in a different way, for there would be little comfort in having Zeus bending down as far as he'd need to to kiss Ganymede like this normally, "but we have other things to do."

"Velchania," Ganymede said with a nod, sounding far more certain than his understanding of what they were here to do actually was, for Zeus hadn't explained anything at all about it. Straightened up in a quick yank, Ganymede blinked as the vertigo and his curls settled, and found his daring to actually ask for clarification. "... What _are_ we doing anyway, my lord?"

Zeus laughed in response, startlingly wild and bright, grabbed his wrist, and took off running. It was such a surprise, Ganymede almost fell over his own feet and onto his face as they were stiffly uncooperative for a moment too long. He managed to catch his balance and pick up speed without falling however, keeping up with, if not catching up to Zeus as they ran along a path that was really nothing more than Zeus parting the high grass for them.

"First; dancing!"

Black hair streamed in the sunlight, long and liquid, bringing to mind the sweep of horses' manes while they were in flight, careless for anything but the speed of their gallop. If anyone would have asked Ganymede a year ago, a month, _this morning_ , if he would have imagined the King of the Gods running over a meadow like a young buck, he would have asked if they'd eaten something and were hallucinating. On the other hand nothing seemed any more natural at the moment, with the late morning sunlight sliding down sleek limbs clearly made for this, accompanied by a lack of burdened tension that, to be fair, on Zeus as he usually was merely added to his broad-shouldered majesty. Right now, though, it would have been sorely ill-fitting.

With that realization, Ganymede shrugged to himself and stopped lingering over his stunned confusion at the differences and resolved to just enjoy them.

How could he _not_ enjoy them when it let him see Zeus in this new way, being tugged along with less unbending command and more eager determination? Zeus wasn't any less demanding, to be sure, for Zeus probably could not be any other way. It was more that the quality of it was different, to match the rest of him. They ran all the way from their hidden landing location to Phaistos' outskirts and were soon running past and along with the inhabitants, who were all moving in the same direction. The destination was a flower-bedecked open court, garlands strung from end to end and around the columns, metal flashing as young men attached belled anklets around their feet and were handed small bronze shields and regular-sized bronze swords. Zeus somehow, but not unexpectedly, got them up to the front and handed Ganymede a shield and sword of his own, proving them to be lighter than real arms would be, but they'd make more than plenty of noise if struck together.

His hands full, Ganymede wouldn't have been able to reach for the anklets a pretty young woman was holding out, but Zeus grabbed them with a wink and a smile that spoke of his appreciation - making the girl blush, predictably - and then knelt down in front of Ganymede _himself_. Staring down at Zeus' bent head, Ganymede was, again, taken completely by surprise. Still, again it seemed more natural that it was this younger, slimmer version of Zeus who was doing this, kneeling on the ground like he owned it even as he was in a position of seeming service while he hooked the anklets in place, then did the same for himself before he stood up, smirking when he looked over and saw Ganymede's expression.

"We have to do this right," he said with mock earnestness but completely serious intent, the tease colliding with his attempt to hide that he clearly found this important. There was less hiding the appreciative glance he’d thrown up Ganymede’s legs as he’d stood up, however. Ganymede rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Of course, Piḫaššaššiš," Ganymede said with nothing but earnest sincerity and had to bite his lip not to laugh at the suspicious look Zeus gave him. It was hard to tell if Zeus was more free with his expressions and emotions like this, if the lack of a beard and the softer lines of his face merely let them come across more clearly, or if Zeus was unused to how much he showed with his face bare like this. It was surprisingly sweet, honestly.

It wasn't really that Zeus was entirely unreadable the rest of the time; Ganymede was getting better and better at interpreting Zeus' emotions and moods, and knowing him better made things more obvious, too. It was just...

"What?" Zeus arched an eyebrow, arms spread as he held his own sword and shield, gracefully broad-shouldered and sleekly muscled (more than he himself was, Ganymede noted, and was only a _little_ jealous), and while there was definitely the weight of demand in Zeus' voice, for when was there ever _not_ , when Ganymede just shook his head, and, on an impulse after quickly glancing around, leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth, smoothly bare and soft under his lips, Zeus huffed, his eyes warm. "Hmm. Be ready, now. We're going to leap forward into two lines, facing each other. The rhythm to beat out isn't hard, but we're going to leap between the lines at times, zigzag."

The song, when it rose up around them, Ganymede didn't know and couldn't have participated in, but the rest was merely a matter of swaying rhythm, of solid feet striking the hard ground together, of the metal ringing as the swords struck the shields, the sound like drums and flutes both. It swelled up around the youths in their lines, filled out the whole court, the audience around them silent at first with the clapping only starting up at the first jumping switch of the two lines, the bells breathlessly silent until each young man landed in turn with an impact of brassy noise.

Ears ringing and his body thrumming with the rhythm and impact of bronze against bronze, Ganymede fell into the dance with abandon, though his concentration kept being stolen by glancing up and catching glances of Zeus across from him. The now-young god danced with his eyes closed, never missing a step or jump and never close to tumbling into someone else, his hair like fire around him. The sun lit up his face, from the shadow cast by his dark lashes down to the smooth slope of his chin. If there was a gleam of light around him that wasn't the cause of the sun, no one would know. Long, slender limbs, just starting to grow heavy with muscle wielded the musical weapons with self-assured ease, and the expression on Zeus' face wasn't just relaxed; there was a wild sort of openness to it, nearly raw in lack of restraint.

It was stunning. _Zeus_ was stunning, and beautiful.

He always was, of course, but... Ganymede couldn't put a finger on the difference, for it wasn't so much a difference as it was like seeing something right in front of you that'd only been caught in the corner of your eye so far, unable to be seen clearly until now. Bright, intense majesty usually burned too clear to see it, maybe, weighing Zeus' shoulders down as much as it loaned additional width to the already broad handsomeness of them. Whatever it was, the other side of the god was as overwhelming as the one he usually saw was. Zeus was singing, too, but Ganymede could hear where it didn't quite match up to the others, the cadence slightly different, the accent off, the version of the language older. 

It fit him.

They leaped again, and in the middle of it Zeus opened his eyes, met Ganymede’s. Time froze, somehow, right at the height of the jump as they were exchanging lines, only the echoes of sound from the weapons hitting each other still in the air. Zeus smiled, hot and sharp and utterly delighted in a way Ganymede wasn't sure he'd ever see Zeus do normally, and after a stunned beat, his heart glowed.

They hit the ground just as Ganymede realized there was a baby crying, but the wailing was quickly drowned out by the beating of swords against shields again, their rhythm only driving higher with each jump, perhaps with the awareness of the crying child, to drown it out. Nothing but the sound of bronze could be heard. The air was practically vibrating with the noise, and Ganymede could swear it was visible to the naked eye, like shimmering bands of gold beating in time with every strike their feet to the ground, of bronze against bronze.

And then, as if on cue, even if Ganymede certainly hadn't had a clue that it would happen, or when they were supposed to do it, they all lunged forward. The belled anklets rang out one last time in an elongated tremble as they knelt down on the ground, slammed their shields onto the ground and the swords onto the shields just as a huge brazier at one end of the courtyard flared bright, heat rolling over them.

In the silence, Ganymede couldn't even hear his thundering heart for a couple seconds. Only when loud cheering broke out and everyone else broke out into another song and the young men around him started to slowly get to their feet could Ganymede pick up the sound of his pulse, the heaving rush of his breathing. When Zeus hauled him to his feet with a smile, though, Ganymede realized he wasn't the least bit tired from the exercise.

"That was---!"

Ganymede found himself with his back up against a column, Zeus' mouth on his, the kiss full of teeth and demanding tongue, a hand on his ass and another in his hair and there were _so many people around them_.

No one noticed.

Not that Ganymede realized that until Zeus pulled back, relaxed, reckless and without a care at all while Ganymede's lips throbbed with the kiss and he was now half-hard from the groping. No one was staring when he remembered to look around, and Zeus laughed, the sound of it high and ringing. The sky above the open courtyard was blue and endless like a new beginning, and Ganymede could still feel his heart trying to calm down.

"They'll be preparing a common feast after the sacrifice, so come."

"Zeus--- Of course." Giving up, Ganymede smiled and let Zeus drag him away, the musical sound of their steps disappearing into the crowd. They were both still wearing the belled anklets, bringing with them an echo of the dance that’d once would’ve hidden the cry of a newborn god and now was repeated for the joy of it, remembering the glowing beginning.


	2. Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Velchania's second day revolves around the marriage of the young god to his goddess mother, echoed in a bridal procession between a chosen youth and a priestess. Usually Zeus would steal into the place of the youth, blessing Crete with his participation, but this year...
> 
> Well, he should probably stay out of completely, but Zeus finds he can't.

Zeus' intent for the second day had been and at first still was to observe from the sidelines.

Nothing else seemed quite fitting, really. It had started quite unintentionally when he was fifteen, with Metis, long enough ago that the reality had been forgotten for the ceremony being played out with all serious - if joyful - intent. He'd not come back while they waged war against the Titans, and after that it took even longer for him to feel secure, relaxed, enough to dare it, as if untouched by everything. To even think of Crete, of the beginning, and consider it important enough to pay attention to. He’d had other things to deal with, more _important_ things; he was not a child any longer, he’d grown up, wielding both lightning and the responsibilities he'd both taken and been given. An adult had no time for childish concerns and play. In the end, though, he'd gone, if just to confirm for himself that he'd left such things behind. It'd been something of a revelation, that first year back when he finally did go. So he kept going back. 

Alone, for he could hardly ask Metis any longer. The only one of his wives that he'd asked to come with him, no matter how long or short a time they'd been joined together, had been Hera.

Snorting softly, Zeus shook his head. Looked down as his hand was squeezed, into green, green eyes, Ganymede's head tipped in silent question with an eyebrow arched and he shook his head again.

Ganymede.

He glanced down again while the procession finished preparing around them, the boy chosen for the hieros gamos decked out in a crown of poppies, the loincloth the youth wore definitely long out of style. He was old enough to be wearing a tunic, and while the old Cretan fashions lingered with the women yet, the men had quite moved past. It was certainly nostalgic to Zeus, though, and the clothing choices of the chosen youth made sure the young man matched with the priestess, who wore a similar crown on her head as well.

"I would normally take his place," he said quietly, leaning down so he could whisper in Ganymede's ear for no other reason than he wanted to, for he could have made sure only Ganymede heard him either way, and he could feel Ganymede’s little shudder from the way the curls trembled against his lips. Was it so terrible that he enjoyed the way he could make Ganymede shudder from a word or two, uttered close, or letting his gaze fall on him fully, when the youth reacted to exquisitely?

"So you should now, too." Ganymede didn't look up at him now, rather kept his gaze on the forming procession, his soft, generous lips pursing slowly. Zeus' gaze stuck there, on those perfect lips. It didn't seem quite right for this moment that he should have the desire to kiss them, but kiss them was what Zeus wished to do. A kiss that, really _should_ be for the priestess. And yet. "... Why didn't you ask your wife, my lord?"

Why hadn't he, indeed?

"I did, once," Zeus said, watching the priestess and her boy-consort as they formed the head of the procession, and maybe it was only reflex that had him pull out from the crowd and slide himself and Ganymede in close behind the youth and the priestess, but nonetheless here they were, and he gently shoved Ganymede to start following the rhythm as the drums and pipes started singing, "shortly after we'd married. She was rather... put out by my chosen appearance. I never asked again."

Ganymede made a noise in the back of his throat and closed his eyes, relaxing into the swaying, stomping rhythm of the bridal procession, though he left the singing to the rest. Watching Ganymede's curls move as if dancing, too, with the rest of him, Zeus closed his eyes. Then opened them again. 

Hera had nothing against dancing - she quite liked it, he knew, and they enjoyed it at the festivities following the mortals celebrations of their marriage, enjoyed playing through the union, renew it as if it was the first time. It always felt like it, during those times. Gamelion was of the few times they could be guaranteed to stay close and friendly, even if he'd shortly before been found to... ah, have misstepped. Usually he kept anything of such nowhere near the time of those celebrations, though, for he valued them and what they meant, no matter what it might seem like otherwise. Yet, when he'd taken her along to the Velchania, she'd been short-tempered and displeased after the first day (she'd quite liked him dancing with the weapons, but she'd just as pointedly said she would have been more pleased by the spectacle if he was older; "it'd have been more impressive."), seemingly finding no charm in reaffirming their marriage through _this_ celebration.

Why?

Who knew why his apparent lack of age would be such an insult to her, even if Zeus _was_ aware she didn’t find much charm in a too-youthful look. Sure, he acted a little more like he really was the age he looked like during Velchania, but it didn’t take all the actual years off… No, Zeus didn’t understand, but did that warrant what he’d done? Choosing to take his formerly mortal prince come cupbearer with him instead, to a festival that didn’t just celebrate his birth. It wasn't meant as a jab to Hera, not intentionally anyway, as inconsiderate as he could often be, often was. He had better ways to accomplish that, if so, and certainly not during one of the festivals he allowed himself a certain measure of _letting go_. It was just...

Out of the corner of his eye, Zeus watched Ganymede's upturned face, the stars in his eyes, the sun-lit silk of his hair, and heat followed. It was, in some ways, ridiculous. Beautiful as the boy was, and he _was_ , undeniably so, none could dispute the godliness of his perfection, the loving radiance of his features, even before ambrosia and nectar had touched his body, had been consumed. But he was still male, for all that. Beautifully, perfectly male, caught in the late blooming stage of youth, his cheeks sliding down at an angle that hadn't yet quite sharpened or hollowed out, his chin perhaps not as angled as it might have been in a couple years, his long limbs slender but firm, suggesting a graceful weight - Ganymede would never have been impressively broad-shouldered even if he should have gained another five or ten years, but there was enough of the width gained there was a weight to him that was, much like everything else, a perfect image of male youth. He was trim and strong and thoroughly stunning.

There was nothing wrong with it, but Ganymede was the first time Zeus had looked at a man and found himself even remotely interested in leaning down to kiss those softly generous lips, the shape of them suggesting the most well-made of artisan bows. Ganymede's age might have something to do with it, since it assured a certain lack of harder features and he’d been slow enough about growing even the beginnings of a beard there’d been nothing to remove before he was made immortal, but really, in the end it didn't matter. Ganymede was still male; there was no denying that. It was still bewildering more than anything else, though he'd started to make his peace with it since having brought Ganymede to Olympos. Still, there'd never been any urge to double dip into the delights undeniably to be found offered by men, young or not, before. He'd been _comfortable_ with knowing the extent of his own attractions, and now...

He'd brought Ganymede with him to Crete for Velchania.

Ganymede opened his eyes, met his gaze as if he knew he was being watched, then looked away, blushing dark enough it was easily visible. Zeus realized he must have been staring in some way, for Ganymede was not so easily startled he blushed at the barest look given him. Not that he couldn't be made to blush in many sweet ways, and easily so, but not just from a regular stare. Ganymede’s head ducked, now, Zeus caught the edge of the glance he threw him, still blushing - like a new bride, shy with emotion and uncertainty.

He'd pulled Ganymede into the bridal procession with him, put him on his right so Ganymede was behind the priestess, while he was at his customary position, though a step or two behind it.

Zeus could still not pinpoint what it was Ganymede was clearly giving him he could not get from elsewhere - from Hera, from any of his consorts, divine or mortal - but he'd taken Ganymede with him to this festival, and clearly his heart all the way down to his essence had known what he wanted to do before his mind had. It was quite obvious, no matter that the gesture would be only that; a gesture. But even gestures held weight. Before them, the chamber decked out for the other half of the ceremony towered up, signifying the end of the procession, so Zeus snatched Ganymede's wrist and pulled him out of the throng. It closed behind them with not a glance given despite the probably faint glow clinging to both of them. It was as he wished it to be.

"... Zeus?" Ganymede asked, bewildered but following unquestionably, and Zeus closed his eyes against the twist of his insides. Did the boy realize he'd been using his name more than his title since late afternoon yesterday? Why should that mean so much? Why should he even want to hear it when hearing the youth address him as 'my lord' was both as it should be and a delight in itself?

"We'll celebrate the rest of it elsewhere," he said with a grin over his shoulder, watching Ganymede blush again, his brilliant eyes darkening and his mouth falling open a little before he snapped it closed, nodding. Through the ceremonial corridors of the palace, out past the workshops, down from the ridge onto the field outside, vast and swaying. There was an old oak a distance away, casting a wide shadow over the ground. It seemed like a boon of the earth itself, though it was doubtful Gaia was so well-disposed towards him any longer.

"Run."

"What?" Ganymede stepped back with a laugh as Zeus let go of his wrist, glancing between the tree - clever, beautiful boy - and back to him, incredulous but amused.

"We'll have our own procession." Zeus smiled, pointed and demanding now that he'd finally taken full charge of his decisions and wants, and he had no fear Ganymede would deny him or be unwanting of what was now going to happen. "So run."

He stepped back from Ganymede so he had the space he needed, then threw himself, and Ganymede's gasp as he fell into the feathers was gratifying. He turned up, an impossible angle, skimmed low over the new grass and twisted up around Ganymede, a piercing shriek ringing up towards the sky. The boy ran. Not that he was large enough currently to carry Ganymede off easily, as his size was no greater than that of a regular golden eagle. He was certainly strong enough, though. Not the point, either way.

He dove sharply, then swooped up, repeated it; piercing whistles filling the air while each time he made a turn around Ganymede, who halfway across the field to the tree started weaving over the grass, laughing. He leaped, twisted around, ran _backwards_ while Zeus wove around him. An exuberant almost-dance that carried echoes of the flight of nearly a year ago, with none of the fear. It was a wonder the youth didn't fall, which would have been a rather awkward premature end to the dancing rush towards the tree. Landing on one of the lowest branches, Zeus waited until Ganymede came up to the trunk right under him before he dropped what he'd made from his beak.

Cheating a little, of course, but only somewhat, both in the construction and with a slight puff of a breeze to make sure the flower crown landed right on top of Ganymede's head. Ganymede jumped, raising his hands up to his head, then smiled, warmly pleased even with such a small gift, apparently. He hadn't even thought to be worried about it, but it warmed something to pleasing inside of him. It would have been humiliating if Ganymede wasn't as giving as he was, if Zeus' emotions were any less all-encompassing for his beautiful prince. Ganymede looked up and held one arm out for him, the other still feeling out the crown. It was green and soft at the moment, new shoots of wheat and budding everlasting and sprigs of manna ash; the crocuses hidden among the rest tightly closed as of yet. A startled moment of staring for the offered arm, and then Zeus flew down.

Ganymede didn't so much as flinch as razor-sharp bronze claws closed with precise gentleness around his arm. Instead his smile only widened and he leaned in, dropping a kiss to the sharp meathook curve of Zeus' beak. A chirp escaped before he could stop it, and that, really, had to be enough, because he could hear the laughter just barely suppressed in the back of Ganymede's throat. Cheeky. Rubbing his head against Ganymede's cheek, he let go of his arm and fell to the ground, transforming back in the same moment - close enough that he pressed Ganymede up against the trunk, hands on either side of Ganymede's head. If nothing else he was much closer to Ganymede's mouth with his lesser height and while playing mortal, and that smile was sorely tempting him to bend down that bit of distance still between them and have Ganymede smiling for another reason entirely.

"Shouldn't this be _yours_?" Those infernally captivating green eyes were sparkling, even in the shadow under the oak's bough, a pointed tease in Ganymede's words as he gently patted his crown. Apparently he hadn't been as subtle as he'd thought, if Ganymede had noticed their positions in the procession. Or rather, had taken note of it as actually being significant. Glowering sternly down at his mouthy little prince, Zeus cupped that perfectly unrepentant face in both his hands. They didn't cover as much as they usually would, and he lazily stroked the high curve of cheekbones with his thumbs, from nose to temple.

"No, not this time."

No, Ganymede alone deserved his crown. At least _that one_. It took barely a thought to bend some of the holm oak's thinner branches, depositing a riot of leaves and tiny green acorns onto his head.

"This one is much more fitting." Maybe it wasn't precisely in the full spirit of the Velchania's hieros gamos, but then, Ganymede was a young man, not an older priestess standing in for the goddess who was both mother and wife in terms of the ritual. And while Ganymede could certainly play the part of the divine boy-consort, Zeus, in contrast... Well, he was young, at the moment anyway, but again a man and not a woman to take the priestess/goddess' place. More than that, while the concerns he usually dealt with felt inconsequential and very far away during the Velchania, it was still a long, long time since he'd truly embodied the sort of innocence that shone with barely concealed eagerness in Ganymede's face. Curious and nervous in one, much like the first time, though definitely more relaxed, now.

It was only right, then, that it be done this way and that he claim the rest of Ganymede as well. His prince was clearly interested in giving it, especially lately. Ganymede doubtfully knew how to ask, _wouldn't_ ask if Zeus didn't put it on the table himself, and up until now Zeus hadn't been fully ready to either take or accept it. He would have kept them busy enough until he was - he _had_ kept them so - because he was both skilled and Ganymede took joy and pleasure as it was given and soaked it up until overwhelmed. It was a gift and a delight every time to bring him there. He had still been keeping some small distance before. No longer.

No longer, too, would he let the urge to kiss Ganymede stay an urge only; with the tree offering both support and something to trap the other against, Zeus leaned down only so much as was needed to lure Ganymede to arch up, straining like a flower for sun until their lips slid together in a slow, insistent caress. This time, it was easier. This time, he didn't have to give in to the need to haul Ganymede up within reach. Could instead leave him straining on tip-toe, as much leaning against the tree as he was leaning into Zeus, face tilted up and his throat a prayer to breathlessness.

One hand sketching a caress from that lovely throat down Ganymede's side, catching his nails over lightly covered ribs and making Ganymede squirm, high-pitched protests muffled by the kiss and stolen by his mouth, Zeus squeezed the hip when he reached it. Slid his hand behind and below to grip one perfect cheek and squeeze while at the same time nibbling on Ganymede's bottom lip.

"I'm going to get a crick in my neck!" Ganymede was laughing as he said it though, tugging gently on the handful of hair he'd caught and dropping a smiling kiss to the corner of Zeus' mouth, quick and darting. Zeus could not deny the sharp little spark of sensation that tug brought, but as always unwilling to reveal that much, retaliated by mimicking Ganymede and leaning into nibble on his neck, following the blush that spread down towards the graceful wings of Ganymede's collarbones. "Zeus--!"

Listening to Ganymede moan always seemed sweeter than he remembered, even if he'd heard his voice break up just a day or two ago, just like that. It didn't matter. The memory always slipped, so he repeated the sucking nibble against the spot he was currently abusing, and was rewarded not only with Ganymede's voice rising up again, but with a trembling squirm against him. His laugh, though, pleased and smug, shattered into a startled moan when Ganymede slid his palm away from his chest, just low enough that he stopped rubbing against Zeus’ nipple and instead could catch it between two fingers in a rolling pinch.

Pausing, Zeus pulled away to stare at Ganymede, less displeased and far more simply _surprised_. The boy met his heated gaze with a wide-eyed, shyly pleased smile and ducked his head, though that didn't hide the way the smile was turning into a grin at the corners.

"You are aware you have full leave to touch me usually, too?"

Of course Ganymede then looked up with an arched, wide-eyed look that was as innocently inquiring as it was subtly pointed. "But how often do you _want that_?"

Mouthy _and_ clever, when he dared show it, which was more and more often as the months passed. Zeus was honestly mostly pleased to see his Trojan prince relax into his position and new home. Mostly. Sometimes, he was being archly called out over matters he wouldn't have thought Ganymede to have noticed. Rolling his eyes, he leaned in and stole any further words and breath all, until Ganymede was breathless and soft-mouthed.

"I'll make it amply clear when I wish to be left to touch you in peace," he said firmly, ignoring the way the longer fall of his hair would be softening his expression, the lesser width of his shoulders stealing quite a lot of his authority. Followed that with moving his other hand to the firm loveliness of Ganymede's ass again, giving it a proper grope with both his hands until Ganymede was blushing like he'd never put hand or mouth on a cock in his life. 

Talking of cocks and where they were going to go... Shifting one hand slightly sideways, Zeus teased a finger between those cheeks, and though the fabric of Ganymede's kilt hindered any deeper exploration, watching shaded olive skin colour deeply enough to be on fire while Ganymede squirmed and his hips twitched forwards against him, was reward enough. For a very brief moment anyway, for watching Ganymede's breath catch, teeth creeping out and his plush bottom lip sucked in under them while a very pointed bulge called attention to itself where it was pressing against Zeus' hip made it not enough. Not when he'd decided what he'd do, here, today, and if he was doing one thing, he might as well be thorough.

Both he and Ganymede deserved that.

"O-of course." Breathy and wavering, but it could and would be _more so_ soon enough. That low-lidded little look shot at him from under thick, dark lashes? Could be a lot more heatedly distracted, lost in sensation. All things Zeus was intent to make happen and took great pleasure in. A glance to the ground revealed it thickly covered by grass and spring flowers, but it was not enough for his purposes or Ganymede's comfort. A sweep of his foot along with a subtle shift of power, and the sweet-smelling greenery could have been a mattress for how thick it now was, springy enough to cushion soft skin when Ganymede was dropped down onto it.

Zeus followed him down and Ganymede stroked his hands up along his arms, from wrists to shoulders, in a slow, definitely self-indulgent caress. But Ganymede's hands were soft and warm, like silk on silk, and his delighted expression merely made the touch better. Short, rounded nails bit into the meat of his shoulders and Ganymede gasped with a squirming arch of his body as Zeus pinched his nipples, _tugging_ on them next. The noise out of the young man below him went straight to his cock, but he could see he was having a similar affect on Ganymede, so the kilt had to go.

Had they been at home, he might have been careless. Now, though, since he wasn't about to have Ganymede dressed in anything less than the fine cloth the transformed kilt was made of, Zeus uncinched the belt properly and unwrapped his beautiful cupbearer like he was a present, fingers ghosting over the sharp jut of his hipbones. Ganymede sighed, teeth buried in his bottom lip again and making it pinker than even the kisses had. Zeus might have leaned in to kiss him again if he wasn't about to put his mouth somewhere else entirely, for the first time ever.

A moment of hesitation as he shot Ganymede a smirk and looked down, hungry heat following the track of his gaze down Ganymede's body. He was perfect, from the trim turn of his waist, the shape of his bellybutton, the lightly muscled firmness of his thighs, framing an eagerly straining cock that was as well-shaped and graceful as the rest of him. Having Ganymede, he could understand where the charm lay, but even having thrown his gaze elsewhere in an experiment or two during the months since he'd taken Ganymede to Olympos, there was just no draw to any of those elsewheres. He was still far more interested in the delights of the (usually) fairer sex; Ganymede was an exquisite diamond of an exception, perfection from the graceful tips of his fingers and toes down to the rounded peak of his cock.

"Zeu---"

Zeus swooped down before Ganymede could finish either his name or the pout starting to twist his plush lips, his hands coming around to grip Ganymede by his buttocks again, fingers digging into the rounded swell of them. Hot, sweet-smelling breath washed over the slender length, flushed pink much like Ganymede's incredulous, startled face. 

"Piḫašša _ššiš_ \---!" Surprise which turned into a gasp into a moan and Ganymede melting into the cushioning grass and flowers. He seemed liquid; spine weak and hips arching up as Zeus swallowed the head of his cock down with all the self-assured ease that should belong to someone who actually _had_ given head a thousand, or at least a handful, times before. Not none. But then, Zeus had always been confident, and he hadn't held back out of concern for his lack of knowledge or skill; different in shape, maybe, but oral sex was oral sex, and Zeus claimed skill in any way that might pleasure a lover.

He was also a very quick study, and learning straight from the body what might please his prince to then be used to drive him spare was an enjoyment Zeus took great pleasure in. Fingers teasing along the quivering cleft that separated his hands exactly because it made Ganymede shift and flex his muscles there while his tongue found the shape and heft of the erection in his mouth and how hard to press or drag against it to make the lithe body under him tremble and squirm, Zeus claimed this act and part as much as he had anything else in his life; with the full force of his considerable attention, intent on picking Ganymede apart. 

If he'd ever had a gag reflex, it was obliterated without a thought as he took Ganymede's dick deeper in slow, intent swallows, frowning in contemplation more than displeasure. There were differences here, of course. The soft, engorged folds of a woman's sex was more intricate of a matter to explore; not exactly subtle, just with more detail to them, and their scents thicker, compared to the sharpness now on his tongue. Ganymede's slender, slightly longer than average cock was a straightforward, silk-clad hardness of sensation, demanding simply by existing if Zeus really wished to only use his mouth. It was... interesting to have to give more than just his ardent attention, but by the way Ganymede arched up against him, tiny little gasps and moans dropping like jewels from his mouth as he swallowed around him, Zeus decided it was definitely worth it. Would do it again for the pleasure of watching his lover fall apart under him; it was certainly easier to spare attention to actually _observing_ the pleasure play out, and that was no less pleasant whether it was Ganymede or a woman spread out in front of him.

He'd mostly intended to get a taste, an initial idea, but Ganymede was clutching at his shoulders, arched against him and trembling. Wordlessly begging with his whole body, and while Zeus had no intention of letting Ganymede spill so early, he remembered very well how quickly Ganymede had learned to bring him to and over the brink with his mouth alone, and he would not have a formerly mortal youth threaten better skill than he. So Zeus went as much by what he knew he enjoyed and that Ganymede had learned to do to him as what he found elicited the greatest reactions. Gentle teeth threatening danger around the head nearly getting him a too-early faceful of come, light kisses down the length of it and, since his hands were very busy, teasing, exploring licks around bare, vulnerable balls, drawing up under the hot ministrations.

When Zeus finally pulled back, Ganymede was a gleaming, trembling mess, wide eyes dark and lit by stars, and it took him a moment to focus on Zeus' face.

"Wh--- What changed?" Still a little dazed, Ganymede managed to find some words, and Zeus sighed, leaning down to rest his chin on the inside of Ganymede's thigh. Rubbed it after a beat, but there was nothing but the soft slide of silky skin on silky skin, soft, vulnerable inner flesh giving under his hard chin. Pleasant, but he could see the brief flash of confusion on Ganymede's face before he looked down and smiled, wry and understanding. He really would have to do this again later, both to see what would feel different to Ganymede and how he'd react from it with a beard there, as well as enjoying watching him fall apart in this new way, from a new angle.

"Nothing," Zeus declared, for really it hadn't, letting go of one buttock with a slow indulgent squeeze so he could hook his much longer hair behind an ear, "everything. Velchania gives me different perspective, sometimes."

Watching Ganymede, Zeus shifted the hand he still had on his ass further towards the center and pointedly pushed a long finger down, feeling Ganymede flex against the intrusion and not heeding it until he reached the tender entrance that had no use for them as immortals. Gently pressed the pad of his finger against it and watched Ganymede's blush spread down like wine towards the little islands of his stiff nipples.

"Even gods may be surprised sometimes, Ganymede," Zeus admitted without intending to explain everything that lay behind those words and tipped his head. Watched pearly precome trickle from the shiny-slick head of Ganymede's cock, followed by a little trembling quiver up along Ganymede's stomach. Watched Ganymede stare, wide-eyed and liquid-limbed, at him, and felt him press down against the finger minutely.

"Please." It was a pink-faced whisper and accompanied by Ganymede dropping his gaze away, his lashes dark fans over the tops of his cheeks, but he merely shifted a little more firmly against Zeus' finger. Not quite enough to threaten to push it in, but the want was clear enough, and a shiver of chill anticipation, startling against the heat of the rest of his arousal, trickled down Zeus' spine. There was a brief, intense urge to simply press inside on the spot, but he knew that was an ill-advised venture at best. And, too, even immortal bodies needed a little assistance.

Still, he couldn't resist a last diversion, leaning in with slow, lazy indulgence and this time making sure not to be so careful. With his teeth, since he had no beard to use, and that would have to be remedied later, for Ganymede made very pleasing noises when he rubbed his beard against some particularly sensitive spot of skin. So Zeus scraped his teeth against the thin, soft skin of Ganymede's inner thigh and then nibbled there, which caused him to stiffen, thighs quivering and trying to smother a noise. That wouldn't do, so Zeus followed it by leaning in further, neatly licking up the pearly liquid with only the lightest of touch of hot tongue to hard tip. Ganymede let out a breathy, entirely inarticulate noise and hitched his hips up with thoughtless abandon. Zeus, kind as he was, obligingly slid his lips around the head before he pulled back entirely, leaving his stunning prince trembling and sweaty in the grass. And looking quite startled.

"Wh---"

"Patience, Ganymede." His smirk was shameless and only widened as he was faced with a most exquisite pout before Ganymede slumped down with a loud groan, sprawling over the grassy mattress in complete, if pleadingly aroused, supplication.

A god would die to see such sweet offering even once, and he was blessed with it whenever he wished.

With a twist of his hand, Zeus forcibly pulled what he needed from reality and popped the cork away from the bottle. Carelessly spilled enough on his fingers that, when he slowly and with great attention to the way Ganymede's muscles twitched, relaxed, flexed and held before they slowly eased into rest again, slid his finger inside Ganymede, he would be leaving a thorough coat of oil behind. There was less resistance since his fingers were slimmer at the moment, but it mattered little. Ganymede breathed out in a sigh when he took his finger back, then caught his breath as he pushed two inside, moving gently until Ganymede was moving his hips in little beseeching twitches. 

That would do. Zeus took his fingers back and made little fanfare of then getting his length equally oiled up. If he'd had Ganymede do it, there would have been more reward in making him be slow and thorough about it, and Ganymede would indulge him. Right now, however, impatience burned with his arousal, and he was young enough, however thin that fiction was, that he wasn't patient enough to wait.

Swooping down to hover over Ganymede, Zeus grinned toothily down at him, open and wild, and winked. Ganymede chortled, straining up to hide his face against his chest, just barely reaching collarbone, though not far enough for the crook of his neck. Soft lips brushed in a kiss - _bite_ , and Zeus heard himself yelp like his voice was about to crack like it hadn't since he was younger than he right now appeared to be. Which of course, after a startled beat of silence, had Ganymede slumping back on the grass and practically heaving with peals of laughter.

"Perhaps," Zeus said severely, hands coming to Ganymede's hips to squeeze and then snap up to catch Ganymede's hands, lacing them together with his as he leaned in, his lips close enough he could drink in Ganymede's laughter, "I shouldn't have been so free with permission to touch me."

Dancing green eyes cut up to him under a coy veil of lashes, Ganymede delightfully relaxed and clearly hearing the lack of rebuke in his voice. But Zeus could also see a breathless and teasing comment about to be made, and that, truly, he didn't need. So he pressed in with both lips and hips, kissing his pinned prince both above and below at the same time. Ganymede shuddered under him, giving into the kiss while his legs fell open around him, giving Zeus a little more space to shift closer. Had he been as he usually was, taller, broader, _much_ bigger, it would have been easier to bend Ganymede around himself, or bend him in half. Right now, with sleek youthfulness and mortal guise matching him closer to his cupbearer in build if not in height, it was a simple matter to fit against him, heat gathering between their bodies and Ganymede's dick trapped between their bellies, dripping and silky.

Slowly, insistently, he pressed in while Ganymede opened up, relaxing into the divine arousal. Tight, quivering heat clutched at Zeus as much as it seemed unwilling to let him in further, giving resistance that he hadn't felt in a while. Familiar, and yet not, and no less breathtaking than any spring he'd dipped into before.

"Beloved... the feel of you---" Zeus moaned, stilling where he was now fully buried inside Ganymede, and felt quite caught. Not in the sense of the hot, tight, so very tight, heat clamping down around him in fluttering shifts, but rather... 

He looked down at the same time as soft-skinned, sleek and strong arms, trembling a little even so, came up to wrap around his shoulders, hands burying in his hair. Ganymede was wide-eyed, and the green of them nearly seemed to glow, as if lit from within. His mouth, kissed plush from earlier, was a soft, wordless open thing, and it took him a couple moments of mouthing half-formed nothings before he audibly gasped, gaze meeting Zeus'. It was like the first time he'd spilled him out on his bed, and still with the belief he could master his unexpected desire. Foolishness, still, but it certainly wasn't punishment for his presumptuous foolishness.

"Y-yeah. I know. It feels..."

Whatever it felt like, Ganymede couldn't finish. And Zeus, as he slowly pulled out against the hot, clutching drag of Ganymede and watched his stunned, flushed expression shift with minute breathlessness at every stretch he slid out, Ganymede's hips reflexively working minutely to retake a tiny bit of him repeatedly while he pulled back, knew that there was no one else he would be able to do this with. It was familiar enough; he'd been curious, and both Metis and Hera had indulged him in turn. Hera had even surprisingly been into it as well, though she was loath to admit it since it would not lead to any potential results. As familiar as it was, the differences stood out, what with Ganymede's flatter angles, hardened by burgeoning muscle but caught in that perfect inbetween so he was still youthfully soft elsewhere, though not in the same even a slim young girl was; the bounce of the young man's erect cock every time Zeus slowly seated himself with a little snap of his hips, and...

" _Zeus_ \---!"

Hitting that spot of nerves inside that had Ganymede almost convulsing around him, more pronounced the more he worked, relentlessly chasing it, chasing Ganymede's reactions. Every time, Ganymede clutching so tight around him he saw stars, the lightning pleasure of it stiffening his spine and stealing his breath and voice both.

Nothing that surely wouldn't be found with any man as he wished, if he wished it so, but that really wasn't what made it special. What made it special was Ganymede's flushed face, the glazed, sparkling eyes, the shift of his mouth. The crown of manna ash, everlasting and wheat had turned to blooming now, bright yellow and shocks of white against Ganymede's dark hair, shy strands showing the beginnings of being bleached by the sun. The green shoots of wheat growing longer and heavier with new grain with every passing second. Zeus swallowed and ground his hips in, causing Ganymede to shudder around him. Ganymede's head fell back and revealed the ruddy, soft arch of his neck, crowned by the apple of his throat.

"Piḫaššaššiš... my god." Ganymede gasped as if praying, fingertips digging into the back of Zeus' neck as his grip tightened. " _Harder_. I'm not going to break."

Another little twitching squirm of his hips, stuttering against the length inside of him, Ganymede somehow having the wherewithal still to straighten enough to smile up at Zeus, past lowered lashes and the curls sticking to his forehead along with the tip of his tongue peeking out to wet his lips. It was Zeus' time to shudder, clutching harder at the ground where he'd put his hands on each side of Ganymede's head. Not at all the reaction he should have to such a request. Demand, rather, and Ganymede rarely at all demanded anything, for he was very easy to please and thus rarely found reason to demand.

"I _could_ break you though," he said, a trickle of real concern behind the words, and Zeus was glad he was not actually as young now as he looked, as young as he'd been when he'd first looked like this. For if he'd been, maybe such an end would have been unavoidable, even with Ganymede immortal and able to stand exposed to his presence if he let go. Normally, anyway. Sex was something else, and if he had still been as young as he was when he looked like this, then maybe the glare would have been too uncontrolled and still burned, if not actually killed, the young man under him. The thought was unconscionable. "Terribly so, even."

Ganymede stilled, teeth catching his bottom lip. Ducked his head too, and if it weren't for the jerking clench around him as well as the still-stiff arch of Ganymede's cock against his belly, Zeus would have worried he had killed the mood with the way Ganymede's shoulders were shaking slightly. Even so, with as still as Ganymede was, he was still concerned enough he heaved himself up so he could reach out, grazing fingertips down Ganymede's cheek.

"Ganymede..?"

"It's nothing," Ganymede mumbled, a hand over his face, but that wasn’t reassurance enough so Zeus slid his hand underneath that hand and grasped Ganymede's chin, forcing him to tilt his head back.

Blushing.

The boy was _blushing_ , red like the finest ripe apple, all the way down to his cute, and very stiff, nipples. Ganymede, briefly catching his gaze past the shield of his hand, groaned in mortification. His dick, however, exposed now that Zeus wasn't leaning over him so closely any more, twitched.

"... You _like_ that possibility?" Incredulity should be anger, or at least concern, but instead Zeus found himself groaning, somehow growing impossibly harder, and Ganymede, in turn, feeling tighter. Ganymede gasped, in reaction to his words or the subtle shift of Zeus' cock inside him, and shook his head in flustered denial.

"I---"

Zeus didn't let him finish. He let go, if only to shove Ganymede's hand out of the way, then to bury one hand in that beautiful riot of curls and the other snagging a thigh to shove it up against Ganymede, partially folding him in half. He squeezed soft skin and giving flesh as he swooped down and took Ganymede's mouth as much as he was taking the rest of him.

Hera was as much his equal as anyone might be able to be, matching him strength for strength, having very firm wishes in the bedroom and elsewhere, and he _wanted that_. That was part of what drew him, eternally, and made him glad she was still by his side; it fired him up. Ganymede, of course, couldn't match up to that. There was no way, even with his divine ancestry and two river gods in his bloodline and then granted immortality and eternal youth. The idea that Ganymede might not actually wish to be able to match him in such a way, that, in some ways, the nearly incomprehensibly vast difference in power _turned him on_ and the potential danger that came attendant with that, even if he was now safe from being killed should the worst come to worst, was a thrill?

A charged little spark ran from the kiss, full of hot need and teeth, down his spine and snapped his hips, back, _in_. Ganymede jolted back against the tree, his startled whimper swallowed by the kiss. Zeus felt the flush spread like a lash of lightning through the lithe body pressed against him, felt Ganymede tighten around him and liquid smear against his stomach.

Clearly, it was a thrill for _both of them_.

So he let go.

Pulling Ganymede away from the tree at the same time as he thrust forwards, Zeus pinned the youth to the thick cushion of new grass, moss and early summer flowers, a cloud of pollen rising up around them. There'd been a plan, some intent, to make love to Ganymede with slow, unrelenting attention. That was no longer possible, but there was more than one way to _make love_. The force of his thrusts didn't take the emotions behind them away; the heedless way he clutched Ganymede's thigh and buried his other hand in grass and earth, ripping it up, didn't change the reason for having brought Ganymede to the Velchania with him, didn't take away the very earnest intent of the flower crown his royal cupbearer now wore.

Fucking the young man into the ground and shuddering at every vise-like, squeezing tremble as he buried himself deep and pressed relentlessly against Ganymede's prostrate to leave him half choked for breath didn't make Zeus any less terrifyingly fond of him.

Because it seemed terrifying in that moment, facing it in full while Ganymede still managed to arch slightly to meet him, twitch his hips down no matter that he was pinned full to the ground. Earth had birthed many beautiful faces, and would birth more, each in loving unique splendour; Ganymede might be a rare jewel among them, as he'd proven so easily, charming even Hera even if she would rather not. He was still one of many, and Zeus had not been caught by any but his wives in such intensity, no matter how briefly he might have known them.

But this youth; his prince and cupbearer...

Ganymede gasped, something that could have been his name, or perhaps just naming Zeus for what he was - his god - and shifted his hips, clamped down with quivering strength around him, head thrown back. Zeus froze there, buried as deep as anyone could - as only he would - get, a moan stuck in the back of his throat and rolling like ponderous thunder in his chest instead, his sleek arms and thighs trembling, just a little. He might insist that he wouldn't have been reacting so openly had he been as he usually was, but that would be a lie. It also matched the way Ganymede trembled, clutching at his arms, green-tinted sunlight limning his stiff limbs, his hair, an earthly glow to rival the ambrosial one of his gifted immortality.

This one had landed in his mind with the first, bare glance he’d had of him, settled in his heart when he’d finally pulled him close. Was now seated in like majesty to Hera, who certainly had won out against anyone else whether she knew it or not.

It wasn't something that could be allowed to be said.

Diving down, Zeus buried his face in the crook of Ganymede's neck. Felt lightning sparks around his head, his shoulders, his heart. Ganymede's flower crown was heavy with corn, the flowers dusting them with more pollen with every one of Zeus' thrusts. He was going to leave bruises.

Normally, that was an unpleasant thought. Right now, it sung through him with the fierceness of wind married to storm, and Zeus could feel himself reach whatever limit he had. How long had it taken? He couldn't remember. That, too, would be humiliating, for dragging it out into blissful forever had been both his plan and was a favourite delight to indulge in.

It didn't matter.

"Z-zeus---!" Ganymede's hoarse sob was as much a prayer as it was a plea for his release, and as close as he was, Zeus was all too obliged to grant it.

It didn't take much; once, twice more, grinding his hips in against Ganymede’s, weighted down against his most sensitive spot, and Ganymede stiffened with a shuddering cry around him, coming. 

Ganymede's crown was now heavy with ripe corn and dry stalks, the manna ash bleeding its sweet sap and the blooms of everlasting having scattered bright yellow petals around his head, caught in his hair. The crocuses were flashes of star-like violet, each carrying a long, orange-red, heavy tear of a stigma that scattered red pollen over Ganymede's dark hair. Zeus would have collapsed on Ganymede if he hadn't caught himself, though admittedly he often _didn't_ catch himself, and maybe he'd already underestimated this new revelation when it came to Ganymede, for his arms came up around him and pulled him down.

Or rather, after a beat, Zeus _let_ Ganymede pull him down on top of him as strong, perfect legs came up to hook at the ankles around Zeus' back. There was a soft-eyed, star-struck and pink-cheeked smile on that handsome face, and if Ganymede smiled like that at him for much longer, one round would quickly turn into two. Which, make no mistake, he was more than interested in that and might yet give in, but this _wasn't_ all he'd planned to do today, for once.

"That was..." Ganymede trailed off, laughing softly and buried his face in the crook of Zeus' neck, trembling a little. "Amazing, love."

Despite his divine hearing, Zeus barely heard that last, shy mumble, smothered against his skin and hair as it was, captive between Ganymede's perfectly bow-shaped lips and his neck. He hadn't heard that from Ganymede before. Knew why, then, for he had an excellent memory and nothing would let him forget a single moment of what had just happened, what he'd said during it and what he'd said since he'd taken Ganymede to Olympos.

Ganymede was perfect and patient and Zeus, though he might have been greedily pleased to hear Ganymede call him _love_ before this, was still grateful to not have heard it until now. Whether Ganymede was wise beyond his years or simply had keen instincts, it was better this way, for both of them.

"Hm." Smiling, Zeus rolled them over, laughing at the surprised yelp from Ganymede at the quick and unexpected change in position, though even so he was still buried inside Ganymede. He didn’t make a move to pull out, since for all his plans, he found he rather didn't wish to move just yet. And while he _would_ have let Ganymede slip off him and then lay back down, if he'd wished to do so, Ganymede only dropped down on his chest, green eyes dancing and that terribly powerful little smile lingering on his lips. It made Zeus want to ravish him. "It was. I should only have done it sooner."

For then there would have been more opportunity to have sex Ganymede like this.

His prince, though, pursed his lips, propping himself up on his arms where they were folded over Zeus' chest, fingers stroking skin bare of the usual dusting of dark hair. "I don't care, Zeus. This was perfect, and if you wanted to do it now but not earlier, I'm happy with that."

This boy. He made Zeus' confused indecision sound like a gift, when the reason he'd not been able to decide whether he wanted to go further with Ganymede was because Ganymede was still an _exception_. An exquisite exception, certainly, it sometimes still had Zeus flummoxed that he really did want to do all he'd done to and with Ganymede during these past months, almost a year. He did, though, and if this was the only one, why shouldn't he indulge in it as fully as he could? Squeezing Ganymede's hips, he let go and tangled his hands in those lusciously soft hyacinthine curls instead, scattering tiny, drying yellow petals as he pulled him up into the kiss - a kiss they both groaned into, since he'd jostled Ganymede where he was still lodged inside of him.

There was a deliberate fluttering squeeze around him, then. Ganymede's breath catching even as Zeus moaned and twitched his hips up, his cock stirring along with Ganymede's, trapped between them.

"We could do it again right now, to make up for lost time, though," Ganymede said, pulling out of the kiss with a blush dusting his cheeks and looking up at Zeus through his lashes. This _damnable_ boy. He was making a very good argument for himself, but...

"Later tonight," Zeus said and decisively, if with great regret, pulled Ganymede off himself, feeling him shudder in his hands and watching as those lovely eyes rolled back a little, "and I'll make it last half the night. There's more for today, though."

His smile wolfish, Zeus banished Ganymede's pout with a kiss, for if he hadn't that pout _would_ have gotten him to lay Ganymede down on the ground again.

"We can't miss the rest of the celebration."

"All right," Ganymede said with a reluctant but warmly bright smile, his eyes speaking volumes for what he thought of waiting but also looking forward to it, and bent down to pick up their scattered clothes, handing Zeus' to him as he dealt with his own. Fastening the belt, Zeus was watching Ganymede out of the corner of his eye as he saw him actually _look around_. Green eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Zeus laughed, unable not to, and snatched up one lax, unresisting hand, kissing the knuckles, each one in turn.

"You see what you do to me, beloved? What you helped create?"

The field around them, not just the bed of thick, soft grass and flowers Zeus had made grow for a mattress to put his prince on, had exploded. Flowers, both such that might have bloomed over by now and those that shouldn't be blooming yet turned the wide field into a gorgeous fresco of colours, with pomegranate bushes heavy with already-ripe fruit dotting the field like unearthed jewels in a mine. The holm oak behind them had doubled its acorns, and the growing fields of barley and wheat in the distance were thick enough now it would be hard to walk through them.

The effect would be seen all over Crete, though not as clearly as it was here around Phaistos, so it would be rather obvious where the young Velchanos had graced Crete with his presence this year, to the consternation of many since it was usually always Knossos. The population of Phaistos would be overjoyed, though. None of that mattered, aside from the pleased knowledge that Crete would once again be well-thanked for sheltering him when he'd most needed it. What mattered was the stunned look on Ganymede's face, the way he ducked his head after glancing to Zeus and blushed.

What mattered was the soft, shyly incredulous but pleased smile on those lovely lips.

"Come, Ganymede. There's more for us."

Kissing the back of Ganymede's slender hand again, Zeus led them back towards the city and the other half of the celebrations around the hieros gamos, which also revealed that the garlands of flowers strung everywhere, which would definitely have started to wilt by now, were still as fresh as if they'd been picked mere minutes ago. The city was wreathed in a floral haze much like the pollen scattered over Ganymede's hair and shoulders, and it pleased Zeus to see. Maybe not quite as much as it pleased him to see Ganymede lost in pleasure and writhing under him, but he would have that again soon enough.

This was as close as it could get for _officially_ recognizing what was between them, even if no one but Zeus would know. That was enough, especially for now.


	3. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the last day of the Velchania, and this little romp is almost over. Before it is, though, there are some surprises left.

Ganymede woke up bleary-eyed and heavy-limbed, partially from the last lingering traces of the hangover he'd mostly slept through, partially from... well, yesterday had been a lot. The night included; Zeus really hadn't been exaggerating about that 'half the night' thing, and while Ganymede was familiar with it, it had been distinctly different when it involved Zeus apparently having let go of whatever had been holding him back and a dick in his ass for the majority of that time. It'd been _amazing_. Just... exhausting, too. 

Ganymede groaned, a groan that turned into a smile buried against Zeus' chest. Flexing the hand that was splayed out over Zeus' stomach, Ganymede traced out the hardness mostly hidden under sleek youthfulness; felt, not much seen, which seemed like an amusing complement to how much of Zeus was at the moment more suggested than not compared to his usual shape. Zeus as king and older hid nothing; the height, the broadness of his shoulders and thighs, the smile and the shadows the beard cast all fairly thrust the obvious power at anyone who so much as glanced at him.

Young, Zeus was a wild, limber possibility of power, long and lean and fairly crackling with it.

What was not any different at all, though, Ganymede could easily see as he propped himself up on an elbow to watch Zeus in repose, was the relaxed sense of confidence. Even asleep, seeming no older than Ganymede himself or when he was old as he usually appeared to be, Zeus was always sprawled out as if he owned all the space he could lay claim to and more besides. Right now, one arm was thrown out away from him, the other trapping Ganymede against his side, one long, strong leg tangled with Ganymede's and the other, like his arm, sprawled wide. His long, dark hair spilled around him like an ink-shining halo - some of it was currently half smothering him, and Ganymede swallowed his sniggering as well as he could, amused to see something so mundane happening to the King of the Gods. Trailing his other hand up from Zeus' stomach, over his lean chest, he brushed the tresses away. Tapped Zeus’ chin. Wondered at his own daring, for he wouldn't have done this normally.

... Or well, after this, he could see doing it again. _Wanted_ to do it again when there was a beard in the way, so he could run his fingers through it. The thought just hadn't occurred to him before, but now it seemed much easier to even comprehend that it was something he wanted to do, that he _could do_. Not that he didn't know Zeus was extremely indulgent with him, he was hardly unobservant. But he'd taken each and every thing that came from Zeus' fond generosity with no real thought of _doing_ anything with or beyond them, just enjoying them as they were.

Maybe it wasn't so terribly strange to actually consider wanting to touch Zeus without being explicitly told he could, though. Perhaps he also shouldn't have been surprised that it was now Zeus chose to wake up, or, if he'd already been awake but hiding that, to act, snatching his hand so quick Ganymede barely caught the movement.

"Ah---! _Zeus_!" Laughing, Ganymede didn't even bother tugging on his captured hand, just let his squished fingers be squeezed and tugged close to Zeus' lips for a kiss.

"Good morning." Zeus smiled, radiating nothing but warm pleasure. It wasn't unusual; this was usually the face Ganymede woke up to when he slept in Zeus' bed, but Zeus couldn't have missed what he had been doing and he was clearly fine with it. More than fine. Ganymede's answering smile was still a little shy, but for once he leaned in first himself to kiss Zeus. Breathless and a little light-headed when they pulled apart, Ganymede sighed. Might have said something, but the look on Zeus' face made him pause.

"... What is it?"

Zeus' eyes were warm, but there was a serious cast to his expression, and he reached out, trailing his fingers through Ganymede's curls. Found a surprising amount of petals from the manna ash, everlasting and crocuses from yesterday, and he smirked a little as he opened his hand and let them drift to the floor behind Ganymede, then returned his hand to Ganymede's hair. Rubbed a curl between thumb and finger, slow and thoughtful.

"Whatever happens today, know that it'll be all right."

"... Zeus? What?" Confused, now, Zeus only shook his head, smiled at him, and got to his feet, hauling Ganymede up as well and clearly not about to elaborate. Frowning all the way until he was distracted by breakfast, Ganymede wondered what that was all about. It couldn't be too bad, though, could it? Zeus had been participating in the Velchania since back when he was actually as young as he appeared to be, and younger than that as well.

Besides, it wasn't hard to forget that confusing exchange when surrounded by a city still practically boiling with joy for the celebration going on, even if it was the third and last day. Maybe that ensured the increase in the intensity, or maybe that was only the building anticipation for the day's great event; bull-leaping.

"Really?" Ganymede said brightly when Zeus brought it up, lengthening his steps a little in his excitement even if that only made it easier for him to keep up with the god. "I've never seen that!"

It might be a favoured, if dangerous when lacking in skill and athleticism, part of certain celebrations on Crete and on the islands within its sphere of influence, having spread to the Achaean mainland, but it was nothing more than a foreign curiosity among the Luwians. And while the Troad was as Luwian as it was Achaean in some ways, the Achaeans who'd taken to settle in that land hadn't brought much interest for the skill with them.

"Then this will be a sight for you." Zeus squeezed his hand, his gray eyes briefly darkening, and Ganymede wondered at it, but found no way to ask about it. Maybe it was more the way Zeus looked forwards again, shadow cast over part of his face from his hair, but otherwise eager and bright. Zeus led the way back up the hill to Phaistos' palace and the courtyard all the events had been held in so far, weaving them through the crowd to find a good spot they were all filled up. 

The space was decorated with garlands of flowers still, and Ganymede wondered, a blush briefly colouring his cheeks, if it were the same ones from yesterday. Could be, maybe weren't. It was impossible to tell. The faint smell of flowers was overpowered today, not by the bodies thronging around, but the bull at one end of the court. His horns were the longest Ganymede had ever seen, a gentle, swooping line of them thrust aggressively forwards and just slightly up at the end. Deadly, but of course, the longer they were the better of the acrobats, too. Still, the sight brought a chill of anticipation as much as apprehension.

Apprehension which lingered and surged every time one of the acrobats went for the bull after it was released, exploding into giddy relief and admiration as each young man or woman made the jump, limbs gleaming in the sunlight, stretching and twisting with their leaps. One of them came down hard, stumbling, but twirled around even in the same moment and since he was clear of the bull, it didn't matter. One enterprising girl made a somersault right over and along the bull's body, the tail snapping her back as she came down behind it, her smile wild and bright. _Most_ of the acrobats aimed to jump over the bull's head only and came down on the side as it ran past, but even that wasn't such a simple matter, not when done at speed. The bull also wasn't allowed to slow down, though that, Ganymede knew, was because it was being tired out for the sacrifice later.

Attention caught by the display and his hand tight around Zeus', Ganymede was entirely unprepared when Zeus leaned in close to his ear, his other arm briefly coming up to drape around Ganymede's shoulders. "Watch this."

There was a smile in Zeus' voice, pressed against his hair, and then Zeus was gone, right when Ganymede glanced to the side, confused. Any words he might have had to ask stuck in his throat, eyes widening, as he watched Zeus cross the courtyard and slide in among the youths waiting for the bull. He choked on his protest, swallowing Zeus' name, and stared, tightening his hands into fists.

No one saw anything wrong; the group as it was now wasn't the same as it'd been when the bull had first been released, some having left after one completed jump, others two or three, and others joining in during to make their own. Zeus' kilt was similar enough to their attire he didn't stand out in this matter either. The largest difference was his full head of hair, since most of the other ones were partially shaved. It only made the spectacle he made when he ran at the bull for the first time greater, with those long, dark tresses streaming behind him, not a strand in the way for his eyes or mouth.

Zeus jumped, twisting in the air before he'd even grabbed at the horns. Pushed off them with a flip, flying over the gleaming, sweating body of the bull like a bird sailing over the waves of the ocean. Somersaulted right before he landed, and the courtyard was practically drowned in noise. The terrible braggart was _showing off_ , and Ganymede knew it. It was still impossible not to be impressed, or filled with a flush of adrenaline and happiness at Zeus' success.

Surprisingly, he didn't run at the bull again immediately, allowing a couple others past him first - among them the girl that so far had been the most daring. The expression on her face was now darkly narrow-eyed, determination glowing off her sweaty skin. Ganymede stared at her, then snapped his gaze back to Zeus, alarmed. She'd get herself killed trying to one-up a _god_ , even if she didn't even know it! There was no way he could shout to catch Zeus' attention, but maybe Zeus caught the bare desperation somehow, for he glanced over. Looking more _displeased_ than worried, but as the glance lengthened, and the girl ran at the bull, Zeus slowly looked back at the girl.

Somehow, she managed to mimic Zeus' twist in the air before she grabbed the horns, but it wasn't perfect; her balance was off. No one else might notice, but what would happen was now obvious, for she couldn't _not_ push off the horns. She'd propel herself off and hit the bulls back, slide off and be trampled. Maybe not enough to kill her, but she would definitely be awfully injured.

The girl, too, realized this, but only when she did push off the horns, having held on for longer than she should probably just to show off her strength and balance. She flew, eyes wide and dark, the long tresses around her shaved head flying as well, but hers was the flight of a bird having been struck from above by a raptor, crooked and unbalanced. She hit the bull's back - Ganymede couldn't even hear what the reaction was, his ears seemed to be ringing with noise and the thunder of the bull's hooves - slid off, and to anyone else it would look as if she had managed to push off and away enough to fall away from the bull's legs, rolling once before she staggered to her feet.

Ganymede wished he had something to collapse against as he caught Zeus' gaze again, trying to convey gratitude that way alone. Zeus flapped a dismissive hand, but the tip of his head and the slight quirk of his mouth softened the cool reaction.

When Zeus went for the bull a second time, he did not pull his strength or skill at all, and while that might seem like a taunt or insult for and to the girl who'd finally staggered off to the side to be embraced by her family, at least she was alive to _be_ taunted, if she was even looking. Zeus leapt, touching the bulls back this time to propel himself further, twisting like a leaf caught by wind over the bull, his hair swirling about him. Landed in an insolent kneel with his arms thrown out, less for balance and more for show. Yes, he was a god. It was still a stunning display of acrobatic skill that only partially relied on strength, and Ganymede was helplessly appreciative despite knowing what no one else watching did.

The third jump wasn't _as_ impressive, but the restraint only underscored the way the gleaming muscles were working, the graceful tension of Zeus' limbs, the ease of his landing.

It also brought back the breathlessly joyful atmosphere to the proceedings, washing away the gray taint of fear and encouraging the other girls and boys still in the courtyard. Ganymede rather expected Zeus to come back at that point, but the questioning tip of his head was met with nothing but a toothy smile from across the courtyard and Zeus flicking him a little wave. Rolling his eyes, Ganymede laughed, relaxing again. The youths and maidens jumping were maybe not as impressive as Zeus was about it, but the girl's near-miss earlier and the fact that all of the rest of them were _nothing but human_ frankly made their jumps at least as impressive as Zeus', if in entirely different ways. There was just no way to compare them, but that merely meant they were both (all) stunning.

Zeus went in for his fourth leap at the bull, skin gleaming like it'd been anointed with ambrosia by now, his pale eyes bright - wild, almost - and his presence filling the whole wide courtyard with his smile alone. Ganymede wasn't sure how Zeus wasn't revealing himself for what he was, like this. Surely _someone_ must feel the subtle hum of power, see the faint glow around him, as if he bent the sunlight towards him. Shaking his head slowly, Ganymede smiled as Zeus made a short little leap while waiting for the bull to come around. It turned, ponderous and monstrous in size compared to the young men and women that'd been leaping over it, though it'd definitely slowed, by now. Tiring, but not yet beaten. Furiously exhausted, it lowed and rumbled along the courtyard. 

Zeus grinned and tossed his head, sending his hair flying. Ran at the charging bull. Didn't jump. People screamed, and then the fires all around the courtyard flared, blinding.

It was doubtful anyone else saw what happened next, but Ganymede, immortal as he was, was not blinded by the fire.

He couldn't have avoided it even if he'd have liked to, unable to look away as ichor spattered the ground and his ears rang with the crunch of bone over the thunder of the bull's hooves. The scream that wanted out was only barely smothered by the memory of Zeus whispering _whatever happens today, know that it will be all right_. How could it be, though? Did he know this would happen? Why would he have gotten into the courtyard, in that case?

Pearlescent gold wet the hard-packed ground, and as the earth soaked it up, flowers sprouted. Flax, poppies, crocuses and roses, a hundred others Ganymede could neither name nor saw for long enough to even try; green shoots of wheat maturing into heavy, yellow stalks, a thick mat of grass and moss following. The slender trunk of a young pomegranate tree, crowned with leaves and heavy with young fruit. It was like yesterday, but speeded up, contained to this one courtyard. Ganymede blinked, and all that was on the ground was flower petals, spread in a circle around the bull, tame as hand-reared dog now. Petals and blossoms were raining down from the balcony overhanging the courtyard, tossed by young maidens, sticking in Zeus' dark hair. Zeus, bright and straight-backed and smiling as he waved, soaking up the audience's cheers, proud as any winning cockerel.

Ganymede's knees trembled, threatening to give, and then he steeled himself. Still needed another moment to bury his nails into his palms, hands trembling, before he dared to move. Breathing out his tension he darted forward with the handful of girls who was surrounding Zeus, dropping flower garlands on his head and around his neck while the bull was led away for the sacrifice. Eeling past the girls, Ganymede ducked in under Zeus arm, and it fit around his shoulders easily, pulling him close. One bonus of Zeus being shorter than usual.

Still didn't stop him from giving the dirtiest glare he would never have thought he'd give anyone, even less _Zeus_ , who merely laughed as he walked them away from the celebrating crowd, the two of them once again slipping off unnoticed. A quick, clever hand took one of the three flower crowns currently adorning Zeus' head and dropped it on Ganymede's instead, fingers catching around one of his curls to gently tug it. Ganymede pulled a face, but didn't move away or pull the flower crown off. The heat practically rolling off of Zeus was as reassuring as the sure, slow beat of his heart under Ganymede's hand. He felt foolish but couldn't help the reaction, even if Zeus was a god. Even if Zeus was, by all accounts, the most powerful god in the sphere he ruled and it was very doubtful a regular bull could _actually_ kill him.

"What happened? Did you _have_ to do that?" He tried his best to moderate his tone, but snippy tension, the last vestiges of his shock and fear, still bled into the words and he completely forgot to use any sort of title. Wide, gray eyes cut down to meet his, and Zeus' surprise almost had Ganymede apologizing. _Almost_ , but he was still feeling the shock and thought he was entirely in the right to feel a little out of sorts.

"Nothing that wasn't supposed to happen," Zeus said, dismissive, but Ganymede didn't have any chance to challenge that (could hardly believe he was was about to do so, honestly) before Zeus looked away, up at the late spring-bright blue sky, his expression turning distant and soft. The arm around Ganymede tightened, the hand on his shoulder gently caressing. Ganymede closed his mouth and swallowed what he'd intended to say and just watched. That wasn't an expression he'd seen at all, he was pretty sure, though of course he hadn't been on Olympos long, really. "But no. I didn't _have to_ do it."

Somewhere behind them the bull lowed, deep and desperate, then cut off.

"It lets me relax, the Velchania as a whole. Participating in it from beginning to end," Zeus said, slow and quiet, eyes still on the sky, his hand heavy and firm where it was clutching Ganymede's shoulder, still now, "makes everything a lot simpler, my concerns being only what is happening right here and now, and the reason for it. My only responsibility is to enjoy the festival and to ensure the people of Crete are rewarded for the place they gave me when I was most vulnerable."

Zeus' face was still unlined, bare of anything but the shadows cast by the sun from the angles and planes of his features, soft and youthful. His eyes, though, were storm-dark and weighted. It was nothing Ganymede hadn't seen before, for Zeus quite often looked serious. But that expression on such a youthful face, taken on for only three days and then to be let go again, didn't feel right. Why _shouldn't_ Zeus let go, a little, if he wanted to? There was a lot of weight on his shoulders. What was three days? What was... Ganymede bit his lip.

"And that includes the..." He couldn't finish, so instead tossed his head back towards the courtyard they'd left behind, the bull and the bull-leaping and Zeus letting the bull run straight at him, running him down. Ichor spilled, golden and otherworldly. Ganymede couldn't help it, and shivered again. Zeus, stopping now, turned to look down at him and sighed, his smile half lopsided as he let go. Let go, only to reach out again, to cup Ganymede's face in his hands and lean down to kiss him.

Was it Ganymede's fault his response was maybe disproportional and a little desperate?

"Yes," Zeus murmured against his lips, sure and final in that sort of way he had, but his hands were still soft, gentle, "but it doesn't really hurt me. We're flexible, when we're young, at least some of us. I was. It's death, but it doesn't hold, because the rebirth is part of it, like all the growing things coming out of it. It wouldn't work elsewhere, this, but my essence remembers the form and function of what happens here."

So he wouldn't have had to feel upset. But of course Zeus couldn't just have _explained_ , either. With the memory of the look in Zeus' eyes, the way he'd said it made everything simpler still fresh in mind, Ganymede sighed. Went up on tip-toe and kissed Zeus' cheek.

"Okay, so let's continue relaxing, Velchanos," Ganymede said, smiling now as he sank down on his feet. Was rewarded by Zeus stiffening briefly at the use of that name, looking down at him with a briefly wide-eyed look on his face that felt like a gift all of its own. Then Zeus relaxed, the gentle slope of his shoulders easing down and he smiled, lighting up his face all the way up into his pale, bright eyes. Ganymede's own smile widened, seeing it. Still couldn't help but add, "But maybe _warn me_ next time?"

Zeus chuckled and slid a hand into Ganymede's hair, winding a couple curls around his fingers. "You did well, though."

"And you, my lord, were _showing off_." It was strange, how easy it was to add that title now, and realize how little he'd used it these past two days. It still fit right in his mouth - he wouldn't want to get rid of it, it was Zeus' due - but it was just as thrilling to realize he was apparently more than allowed to _not use it_. There was a smile against his mouth when Zeus leaned down again for another kiss, and Ganymede pressed closer, less desperate now. Fascinated by how easy it was with Zeus was no more than a head taller than him, slimmer and limber instead of, it seemed like, taking up half the room of any he entered. He did miss the sensation of being surrounded and almost crushed, though. He got that all the time usually, however, so he could enjoy this, too.

"Now, you proclaim it's fine that I should enjoy myself, and yet here you are censuring my chosen methods?"

"I don't think I was censuring anything yesterday," he said with a grin, his cheeks heating as Zeus pulled him closer, hard, and practically devoured his mouth.

"True, you weren't. We could always--- Ganymede?"

Somehow, Ganymede managed to slip out of the grip, ignoring the sudden half-hardness poking him in the hip, no matter how tempting it was. Smiling, he snatched a lax wrist and tugged, Zeus coming along more because he allowed Ganymede to pull him than that he was easy to move in his surprise. Even when Zeus was, to all appearances, no more than a year or two older than Ganymede, he was solid in a way no regular human, even one raised to the ranks of the Deathless Ones, could ever be.

"They're probably not finished with the sacrifice, you should be there for it," he said, continuing to tow the King of the Gods after him as if he _wasn't_ any more than a callow, if stunningly handsome, youth, with the flower petals of his victory still stuck in his long, unbound hair, "it's for you, after all. And there's going to be dancing, later, right?"

"One more, yes."

Looking over his shoulder, Ganymede smiled at the expression on Zeus' face, his chest warming up like a firebrand catching with unexpected ferocity. Maybe it was just because Zeus currently looked young that it made such an impact, but Ganymede didn't think so. It was more... everything these past months having led up to this, perhaps? Zeus taking him along to what was, really, a pretty emotionally vulnerable space and moment. Not because Zeus was any less powerful in reality like this; he was as he always was, of course, but there was still a difference in what came out and how Zeus acted. He _allowed himself_ more, in a different way, than he did normally. Why Queen Hera wouldn't want this, Ganymede didn't have a clue, but since it allowed him to be here, he was quietly (very, very quietly) grateful for it.

That it'd also come with Zeus doing two things Ganymede had thought by now actually wouldn't happen had been a surprising gift. He would have been okay - more than okay - with the sex as it was, of course. He wouldn't dream of calling anything Zeus did with him unfulfilling, because it wasn't. Far from. But what had started out as something unsettling and scary, if tied up in fearful anticipation because he was still curious even back when he was fourteen, had slowly become more nervous anticipation and confused want over the past several months. He knew what they had been distinctly _not_ doing up until now, and he’d started to want it with a lot less apprehension than when Zeus had pulled him to his bedroom that first time. At first only to find out what it was like, get it over with, maybe. Then because he wanted to see what Zeus looked like during it, wanted to know if it felt any different from what they usually did. It both had and it hadn’t. It’d been well worth it. 

And nearly a year wasn't a long time for a god, but Ganymede, even if he was immortal now, had only lived just about eighteen years up to now, though most of that last one wasn't at all visible on him, and he still had a mortal's sense of time passing, of impatience. He wouldn't ever have said anything if it never had come up, for maybe Zeus just wouldn't have been interested to go there, when Ganymede was already an exception from what he usually wanted.

Then he had gone there.

Gone there for both things that hadn’t happened so far, and Ganymede wondered if the skillful command Zeus had of it was because he wasn't familiar with it to know better if Zeus wasn't actually good at it (though that was just impossible to imagine), was because Zeus was a god, or just... Well, because Zeus was Zeus and he was genuinely good at this, as much as he enjoyed it, so even if he hadn't done something before, he just took to it naturally. It was, frankly, intimidating.

Ganymede just hoped he was _good enough_. He couldn't imagine it took Queen Hera time to learn anything she was interested in trying, though thinking about Hera, Zeus, and sex together had Ganymede mentally backing off, far far off, for he wouldn't want to know what Queen Hera would do if she ever found out he had thought about her and sex together. Scary. But he also sort of had to believe he wasn't lacking, did he? Otherwise he wouldn't be here. Wouldn't _still_ be in Zeus' bed. Wouldn't still---

"Ganymede."

Flinching as his hair was pulled, Ganymede looked up, knowing he was pouting and not caring. Maybe he just wanted to test it out, just a little. And watching Zeus' expression go from a narrow-eyed frown because he really didn't like to not have attention on him when he was right there, to the light returning to the gray and turning them soft like mist, his mouth softening into a small smile was...

It was really validating, and it left Ganymede nearly light-headed from the warm intensity of Zeus' stare as well as the heady sense of power.

"Yes, Velchanos?" Ganymede asked, sweet like honey, lashes lowering and the pout lingering, deliberate for once. Zeus blinked, briefly narrowed his eyes as he caught on, and still he laughed, the chuckle a warm rumble in his chest, if not quite as deep as usual.

"I believe I'm missing the sacrifice."

Laughing, Ganymede took Zeus' unresisting hand and ran them back.

###### 

The last night always felt like grains of sand slipping out of his cupped hands, but with Ganymede beside him, Zeus found himself focusing less on the passing hours. Why would he, when dancing now wasn't just a matter of throwing himself into the motions, or pulling a pretty girl to himself for the duration, trying let her beauty and body distract him from disappearing time. Now, it was as much about letting it out through the dance for himself as it was watching Ganymede try to keep up with him, watching Ganymede react to what he was doing.

Watching Ganymede's shining green eyes fly wide as he tossed him up into the air, watching him choke down a protesting cry of his name or a squeak of it, and burst out in reluctant, giddy laughter when he caught him and twirled them around.

Watching Ganymede eat, always managing to turn it into something gracefully captivating. Watching Ganymede frown when he refused to give over the piece of meat Zeus was holding out, watching him glance from the food in his fingers, up at his face, and then, a blush darkening his skin, not as tanned as it'd be later in the year, lean forward a little, waiting. Letting Zeus pop that morsel right into his mouth--- 

Ah.

He might have miscalculated. Or not, as it might be, for Ganymede, though he flicked a nervous glance around, still flustered at the prospect of being seen, still gently closed his lips around his fingertips and practically sucked any speck of juice and fat that might have been left behind off. And then he promptly ducked his head, so red the blush was practically glowing off his warm olive skin.

He would have to do that again. Zeus smiled, but looked up from Ganymede, catching a stare he first felt at his neck and twisted around to the giggling, coy smiles of a gaggle of _very_ pretty girls. His smile widened, wolfishly pleased, but some of that attention wasn't on him. And that would be fine, Ganymede was well worth staring at, but the _way_ that particular girl did stared displeased Zeus. Meeting that young woman's dark eyed stare deliberately, he pulled Ganymede against himself and arched an eyebrow, his gaze slowly darkening. Finally she paled and looked away, hustling her protesting friends off. A loss, but he wasn't about to share. Besides, Ganymede wouldn't have been comfortable with it. Not that it would have been better if it'd been a group of boys - in fact, that might have been worse, Zeus was reluctant to admit. _Those_ Ganymede would probably be a lot less unhappy with if they approached him.

"... Velchanos?"

Looking down at Ganymede where he was tilted back against his chest, Zeus exhaled. Leaned down and pressed a brief kiss to Ganymede's perfect lips, because there was no way to express what it meant to hear that name again. Sure, the accent was wrong, the emphasis slightly off; it didn't matter. It was like listening to the past, and it seemed to slow time down every time Ganymede used that name. It was just a pity he hadn't earlier, or that Zeus had thought to tell him to do so at the beginning.

"Nothing."

For it was nothing. The girls already forgotten, Zeus was once again focusing on his here and now and Ganymede's reaction to it. The hours passing didn't matter, even if it was an inevitable countdown to the end of the Velchania. Time always passed, and there was always next year. Next year… with Ganymede that time as well, if the boy was still with him. Even just thinking ‘if’ in the context of Ganymede had Zeus pulling him tighter against him, though there was little reason to think it’d last so long. Nothing but Hera ever had. And yet…

Zeus dropped that line of thought for the present.

Later, late enough half the night was already gone they were sitting outside the lingering lights of Phaistos looking up at the stars. Ganymede had shyly offered up a Luwian story or two about some of the constellations, and in response Zeus chosen to go farther back in history than what Ganymede might have expected for his own stories - he had sure looked surprised when the story Zeus told him hadn't been what he might have expected. But this was Crete, and Velchania. It was only fitting, and he had very fond memories of Ida and Adrasteia whispering stories while he lay curled up against Amaltheia, warm and full. Someone else ought to remember them too.

Now, though, Ganymede was a soft weight against his arm, relaxed and heavy - so much so, Zeus didn't expect any more conversation from him, eyes closed and breathing even as he was.

"... The funerary procession was a little disconcerting, you know," Ganymede said, his voice nearly a drawl. Zeus chuckled quietly, the rumble of the sound never blooming out into its full potential as laughter.

"Today _is_ technically a day of mourning as much as paying thanks," he pointed out with a smirk, "and I was right beside you the whole time."

"Still. There was _a grave_." Ganymede huffed and then fell silent for so long Zeus thought that this time, he really had fallen asleep. "... I'm glad you came." 

It was nothing more than a murmur, fuzzy with potential sleep, but when Zeus looked down, he caught the glittering edge of green from Ganymede's eyes through his lashes before they fluttered closed. Ganymede opened them again, but they slid closed again with slow determination. He was fighting a losing battle. Zeus shifted his arm to wrap it around Ganymede and pull him against his side, the young man not fitting quite so easily at the moment; his head landed on his shoulder instead of tucking in under his arm and against his side, more like when he embraced Hera. It was charming, but he did miss the smaller body against his own by now.

"Hold on to that thought for later, my prince," Zeus said with a sigh, tipping his head back to watch the glittering spread of stars, trying not to smile and failing, "you might regret it yet."

As much as he'd promised him he _wouldn't_ regret being taken to Olympos, that was probably an impossibility. Ganymede grunted, soft and drawling, as he shifted against him and buried his nose in the crook of Zeus' neck. It didn't take long for Ganymede to go limp against him, his head drooping fully, his breath soft and warm where it washed over his throat.

_I'm glad you came._

Maybe that would be true even a couple hundred years from now, but Zeus wouldn't hold his breath for it. Like he’d thought earlier, this was already much longer than he would have expected his fascination to last, though he had only begun just now to fully dip into all the delights Ganymede could offer. Despite that this had lasted nearly a full year already, it really didn't feel like enough time at all. Elsewhere, outside of Hera, his attentions didn't last, burned themselves out in the delightfully pleasant fire of the first or first couple times. Ganymede, though... Zeus looked down, and found himself smiling without having thought about it as he watched the just visible curve of Ganymede's cheekbone, disappearing down into the soft slope of his cheek, the swoop of his nose.

"I hope you don't, though," Zeus whispered, getting nothing more than a sigh in reply, a caressing nudge of the rounded tip of Ganymede's nose against his neck. He honestly _shouldn't_ hope that Ganymede didn't regret it, shouldn't hope he would be interested in keeping him for long enough that Ganymede regretting it might end up being a very real concern. But, staring down at Ganymede, Zeus realized (admitted to himself) he didn't want to let go, as little as he wished to let go of Hera. Well. They'd see where this would end up. 

Carefully turning around, he caught Ganymede under his bent legs and around his back and stood up. Shifting him against his chest, Zeus walked back to where the horses would still be hobbled. It was time to go home. 

One step, and the next was longer, his height greater. A second, the kilt straining before it adjusted to the shifting girth of his waist and thighs. A third, and his hair shortened a little, back to its customary length, brushing broadening shoulders instead of spilling past them. The subtle weight of his beard grew back, stirred by the gentle night breeze. A fourth, and Zeus looked as he always did, if still barefoot and dressed less than appropriately for the King of the Gods. And he could cheat and shift the fabric around to something else, but he never did when going back from the Velchania. The clothing would be put away properly at home and he'd dress as he was usually dressed in the morning.

For now, there was grass and small rocks under his feet, and Ganymede splayed, warm and soft, against his bare chest, breathing slowly and deep in sleep. For now, there was still stars and moon over his head as he found the chariot and the horses. Zeus didn’t bother to undo the hobbles manually or yoke the horses himself, just moved it all with power and got into the chariot. Had to shift Ganymede to one arm as he grabbed the reins - sure, he could put him down, there was enough space for that, but why would he? He liked him right where he was, and the boy wasn't heavy.

"Let's go back, then."

Ganymede mumbled something unintelligible and the horses snorted as he shook the reins. Three trotting steps and a leap later and they were airborne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Myth/reality-check: There's no straight myths dealing with Zeus' childhood as what I've been referring and implicating here. It's all built on scattered bits of real world celebrations and Cretan versions of mythology as translated from probably surviving Minoan bits of religion. Zeus' experiences with the spring celebration (and the existence and contents of that celebration in general) take inspiration from the Cretan celebration of Velchania, for the consort/son of the goddess that Zeus got equated to on Crete. The "tomb of Zeus" was a very real thing in the ancient world, and the youthful god was a dying-and-rising vegetative god.


End file.
